Castiel
by Dean's Girl 1967
Summary: Castiel falls in love after being sent on a mission to protect a human girl. What is it about her that makes her worth so much to Heaven and why can't Castiel seem to stay away? Rated T for language.
1. Ella

**A/N: I decided to write this story because all the Castiel stories I've read are ones where it's Castiel/Dean which I don't find entertaining (nothing against the authors, some were well written). So I decided to write my own story in which Castiel falls in love with an original female character. **

**This is my first Supernatural story, but not my first story altogether. Please critic this as best as you can, I find all comments useful and won't get mad if you suggest something - I love comments that help me write better! **

**This story takes place after season four and I'll try to stay as true to the show as I can but if I get something mixed up feel free to point it out! (Sorry for the huge introduction I tend to ramble)**

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Castiel gazed at the girl; his head tilted a little to the left as he observed her with his electric cobalt eyes from the corner of her two-room apartment. He studied the way she was hunched over the green marble top counter, her left hand holding her brown hair out of her face while the other held a simple black pen. He watched her not out of some stalker's need but rather out of fascination as she flipped through a massive textbook in front of her and scribbled down notes on a pad of paper. Castiel marveled at her neat penmanship considering how fast she was writing to take down all of the notes she could before she had to leave for her class which was in ten minutes according to her schedule.

He shifted his position and took a few steps closer towards the girl; moving so that he was only a few feet away. But even though his movement was not as subtle as it could have been he knew that she would not notice him where he stood. Castiel possessed the ability to become invisible - though he did not like to use the term invisible. He deemed it too much of a childish expression for a being as powerful as himself. But no matter what others called it he still considered it to be one of his many attributes that he found useful when he was sent on a mission.

So now he stood near her, pondering the instructions he had received in terms of the girl before him. All Zachariah had said was that he was supposed to watch this girl; protect and guide her all costs. Castiel did not know why but for some reason this girl was worth something to heaven and her safety depended on him.

The girl lifted her golden brown eyes to look at the clock which hung on the plain beige wall behind Castiel. As her eyes passed over the place where Castiel stood her sweeping gaze paused on a particular spot. She felt as though there was something there, just beyond her detection. Castiel remained stock still, only his eyes moving to widen in shock at the thought that she could see him. But then she dismissed the notion and her eyes moved on to the clock, causing Castiel to sigh with relief. He had been told to remain concealed until further notice and disobeying Zachariah's orders would land him in trouble.

The girl returned her attention to her books and gathered them up, shoving them forcefully into her tan side bag before slinging it over her shoulder. As she stood up and turned to leave her apartment Castiel was able to study her attire. She was garbed in navy shorts, the kind that hiked themselves up her legs and made Castiel regret remembering that she was a human and not one of his own kind. Her light blue and white tank top fit her slim physique nicely, something that Castiel did not miss. He noted her petite feet clad in navy blue flip flops and the silver ankle bracelet that wound loosely around her creamy left ankle. As he found himself liking the way her long, brown hair fell like a waterfall over her shoulders he forced himself to look away, his thoughts assaulting him in his mind, _how can I think of her this way?_ He snarled mentally at himself, _my kind is not supposed to view humans like this. I'm not supposed to find her…_he gulped once and begrudgingly admitted the feature, _attractive._ He lifted his eyes to look at her disappearing form as she shut the door behind her.

Castiel remained standing there for a few moments as he listened to the small metal click as she locked the door, followed by the smacking of her flip flops as she walked down the hallway. A moment later Castiel was standing in the elevator when the door opened and the girl stepped in, oblivious to his presence. Movement such as what he had just displayed was easy for him to accomplish, but the action was too complex for a human mind to comprehend.

The girl clutched her bag closely to her while she reached out to press the elevator button. As the elevator went down from floor three to floor one, the elevator only stopped once to let on a lone man who eyed the girl up and down. From where he stood in the corner Castiel could tell the man was built up with lust and malice; he could tell that from the man's mere expression. But reaching out to the man with the power of his mind Castiel found his thoughts to be even more repulsive than what he could perceive with just his eyes. Luckily the elevator soon stopped at the lobby and the three passengers left the elevator. Castiel glared at the man as he walked in the opposite direction, glad that he had not tried to harm the girl.

With lithe dancer like movements the girl strode through the lobby with purpose and determination to not be late to her religion class. She exited the lobby and onto the bustling street where her taxi was already waiting for her. She had called ahead to be sure that she could get a ride seeing as her ride was currently undergoing some mechanical fixes. She slid into the backseat and shut the door quickly behind her, a small key chain getting caught in the door. Exasperated she re-opened the door and tugged the friendship bracelet which hung on the chain back in and closed the door back again.

Castiel moved quickly and soon found himself sitting in the back of the cab near the girl, watching her fiddle with the single key chain on her bag. Again he began to ponder what was so special about this girl, what was it about her that meant so much to his Father? He spent the twenty minute ride to her college wondering what it was that made her different from all the rest of the humans who went about their business every day. Perhaps she was a hunter, or soon to be one of the any vessels who serve God.

When they arrived at their destination the girl thanked the driver and paid him, giving him more than was necessary for the tip. Castiel concluded that either she was being unintelligent or just generous. She walked the half a mile to where her class was, Castiel trailing her the entire time undetected by any of the student body. He noticed the school's name which hung in silver lettering across a building which faced the road, _Saint Theresa's_ he thought to himself wondering what made her pick a Catholic university.

She hurried along to her class, passing a few people along the way and exchanging brief hellos before finally reaching her destination. As she entered the building a gust of warm air enveloped her causing her to momentarily shiver as another squall of cold air blew in behind her. Although it was spring, just a week before she was done with college, the weather in Vermont was still moderately cold this time of year.

Castiel followed her as she entered into her religion class which was instructed by a stout bald man whom Castiel could tell was no Catholic. The man's thoughts made Castiel wonder what business he had in teaching a class he did not believe in. But Castiel was not there to judge so he stood in the back of the small room watching on the lookout for any danger that might come the girl's way. He stood there for the entire forty-minute class and when it was over he watched as the girl along with the rest of her classmates left the room, most of them disgruntled about the essay that had just been assigned to them. Castiel found the topic ironic; the students were to write about angels.

The girl walked towards the back of the room, passing right by Castiel without even noticing him. She looked at the clock that hung on the wall, biting her lip when she saw that it was already 6:40. Castiel wondered what she was thinking but reading thoughts of those around him cost him energy, and after using his powers for moving from place to place and reading the thoughts of the elevator man and her teacher, Castiel felt a little worn out.

Once again the girl got into a cab that was already waiting for her in the school's parking lot. Castiel noted that it was a small school for a college, but then again the dwindling population might be due to the fact that so close to the end kids were cutting school. The girl rode in the taxi but this time it didn't drive to her apartment but rather down a few side streets until at last it stopped at a mechanic's. Again she thanked the driver and tipped him extra before hopping out and walking towards the dingy front room of the mechanic's.

Bells clanged noisily against each other as she opened the door but she seemed to find them indifferent as though she were accustomed to hearing them often. A man who appeared to be her age stepped out from around the corner wiping his hands on a dirty rag before slinging it over his shoulder. He was dressed in torn up jeans and a plain green tee-shirt with a white undershirt which was visible through a hole in the green shirt. He pushed his curly light brown hair out of his deep brown eyes to look at who had come in the door. When he saw the girl a smile spread over his face and he beamed, "Ella!" he said happily before walking over and gripping her in a hug.

"Hey Noah!" she replied cheerfully as he released her from his voice-tight grasp. Castiel stood there motionless, her name was Ella. He mulled over the name in his head, wondering what it would sound like to say in casual conversation, _Ella_. Well, that was one more piece of information he had gathered about the mysterious girl, but he knew that he still had a lot to discover since Zachariah had told him nothing but her address.

Castiel's attention returned to the moment at hand as Noah led Ella through a jointed door and into the huge garage where there was an assortment of vehicles. He led her to the back where there was an oddly shaped _thing_ under rumpled blankets. With a proud smile on his face Noah yanked the blankets off to reveal a shiny red motorcycle. Noah placed his hand on the black leather seat, "Well, it's all ready" he said still smiling before adding, "But you might wanna take her for a quick test drive before you leave just to make sure everything's the way you want it". Castiel felt a knot grow in his stomach, followed by a wave of unease. The most disconcerting thing for him at that moment was not that he was _feeling_ something towards a _human_, but rather that Ella was going to ride that _thing_.

She nodded her head, "It's okay, I trust you" she said in a voice that made Castiel know these two had a connection that ran deep, he just didn't know how deep. Noah appeared a bit uneasy at her response as though he was worried something might still be wrong. Ella sensed his apprehension so she changed her answer, "Tell you what, why don't we take it to my place and you can stay the night".

Noah smiled; "Absolutely!" he said as he grabbed a set of keys off a nearby counter and tucked them into his pocket. Castiel furrowed his eyebrows, was Noah her boyfriend?

Ella pulled her hair into a high ponytail before lifting the kickstand and hopping on the bike. Noah tossed her a shiny black key which she stuck in the machine causing it to roar to life while he jumped on the back, "Ready?" she asked him as he wound his hands around her waist causing Castiel to become somewhat enraged. However he didn't have time to mull over his feelings because just then Noah grunted his yes and the machine was thrust forward and sped out of the garage.

"Slow down Ella!" Noah yelled as the bike kicked up a cloud of dust and she swerved to the left. Ella's only response was her glee-full giggle and the snarl of the bike's acceleration as she spurred it on faster. Castiel remained in shock for a moment before regaining his stability and running after the two on the bike. Even if he wasn't using his powers to move himself, he could still run pretty fast…

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**A/N: Well, if you read that entire thing thanks for sticking with it, I hope you liked it! Please review! I'll be sure to update soon!**

**~ Ariel**


	2. Picture

**A/N: Well, I hoped that everyone liked the last chapter! Here's chapter two…**

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Noah gripped tightly to Ella's waist as she swerved in and out of traffic, going as fast as she could without crashing and causing both her and Noah some serious damage. The wind whipped her hair back into his face, slapping him and causing his cheeks to redden in a stinging pain but right then he didn't care. He barely noticed the pain against how much fun he was having, how much fun he _always_ had with Ella.

Her sharp turn to the right jolted him back to the present and he leaned his body and shifted his weight to make driving easier for her but he knew that she was experienced enough and probably didn't need his help anyways. But Ella caught him trying to help, "Noah I'm twenty-eight I can drive by myself" she said matter-of-factly with a smile.

Noah raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" he asked jokingly causing her to jolt the bike forward as she cut off a silver mini-van. A loud honk from the owner resulted and Noah rolled his eyes, "Soccer moms" he said more to himself than Ella but she laughed anyways.

The pit in Castiel's stomach grew as he watched Ella veer her way through traffic with certainty and somewhat egotistical air. In half the time it would have taken the cab, Ella arrived at the apartment complex and parked her ride on the street, slipping the key out of the ignition and into her pocket before putting down the kickstand and getting off the bike. Noah got off next and walked ahead to the entry door which led into the lobby, followed by Ella. Once inside they rode the elevator to the third floor, Castiel standing unseen in the corner of it, his black hair disheveled from running the ten miles from Noah's place over to Ella's apartment. The tan trench coat of his vessel was rumpled as well as his black pants, white tee-shirt and blue tie.

As the elevator opened Castiel spotted Noah pull out another set of keys which he used placed in the keyhole for Ella's room. This caused Castiel to tilt his head; did Noah have a key to her place? It seemed so because seconds later he heard the metal click before Noah twisted the handle and let himself in.

Ella headed straight for her little refrigerator that was in the kitchen corner of the apartment. Grabbing two beers, she tossed one to Noah and opened the other one herself before taking a few sips. Noah flopped down on the sofa which was situated in front of the small TV and a bookshelf which was stuffed with books of all size and genre. Ella sat down next to him as he turned the TV on to a random show and began flipping through the channels. He found nothing that interesting and finally settled on a movie that was playing, "There's nothing good on 7:30 at night" he complained with a scowl.

Ella rolled her eyes, "We should write a TV show and have it broadcasting at 7:30" she said jokingly. Noah smiled, "Yeah it can be about two regular twenty-eight year old kids who win a million dollars" he said casting Ella a look. She laughed, "And they'll just randomly happen to be named Ella and Noah?" she asked him with a twinkle in her brown eyes.

"Absolutely" Noah said as he turned his attention back to the TV as scenes flashed across the screen. Castiel leaned against the cool marble counter surprised to find that she was twenty-eight since she had a manner about her that suggested different. He thought that she would be older because for some reason he found her to be old as in smart and wise. But then again the little stunts she had pulled on the motorcycle begged to differ. As Castiel looked back at the two friends on the couch he asserted that Noah was no danger so he took the opportunity to look around Ella's small but cozy apartment.

There really wasn't much to look at but he found it all interesting. The beige wall theme continued into her bedroom where there was a queen size bed in the middle of it. A solitary window was to the right of the bed and one look out of it informed Castiel of the fire escape that was situated right next to it. As he turned back to face the room he noticed the assortment of pictures she had posted on the opposite wall. He took a few steps closer and studied them in an attempt to learn more information about her.

To his surprise there were no pictures of people who he assumed to be family, just a lot of pictures of people her age. In almost every picture Ella was surrounded by groups of what appeared to be her close friends. Castiel spotted a few pictures of just her and Noah but – here Castiel looked out of the room to check on the two – so far Noah hadn't tried to kiss her or anything which made Castiel think that maybe they weren't a couple, just close friends. Returning his attention to the pictures there was one that caught Castiel by surprise. He carefully un-tacked it from the wall to study it more closely. It was a picture of a young girl, probably Ella when she was no older than fifteen who was standing in between two being adults. The man looked to be about forty or so and had short, light brown hair and bright green eyes. The woman seemed to be around the same age as the man, and as for her features she had wavy black hair and warm caramel colored eyes. The way they stood there made Castiel think these were her parents but there were no physical similarities between any of them.

But what really caught Castiel's eye was the lone car that was in the background of the picture, and the figure that sat with his back turned to the camera. Castiel would recognize _that_ car anywhere as well as the driver. As he tacked the picture back on the wall he wondered what Dean's beloved 1967 black Chevy impala could be doing in a picture with Ella and these two unknown people.

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**A/N: I know this was short but an action-packed chapter three is coming REALLY soon! And when I say action-packed I mean it, loads of demon butt kicking coming up! Please review - I'll personally respond to each message!**

**~ Ariel**


	3. Surrounded

**A/N: Here's the action-packed chapter three I promised!**

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Castiel lifted his head as he heard the sound of three knocks on the door as the smell of sulfur drifted into the room, alerting his fine-tuned senses. He was in the hallway before Ella had time to even turn her head and look at the door. Castiel allowed himself to be seen and the demon turned in shock and growled at him; a feral snarl ripping through its teeth as though it were some animal - which it was to Castiel. Castiel stretched out his hand and began to recite in Latin the words he had memorized, somewhat enjoying as the evil thing writhed in pain with every word Castiel said. Within moments the man threw back his head and jets of black smoke poured out of his mouth with a howl of pain leaving the carcass of the man on the floor. But he wasn't alone.

Another demon stepped out from around the corner, bigger than the last with well built muscles that were decorated with various tattoos. He was bald, overweight and ugly and when he grinned maliciously it revealed missing teeth. As he stepped forward Castiel could feel the vibrations of every step the demon took. From inside the apartment Ella and Noah heard the commotion and gave each other freaked out looks, "Stay here" Noah instructed as he stood up and walked over to the door of her room, peering out through the peep hole. He saw the man stalk towards Castiel who was saying something in a rush but the words were lost as from behind Castiel a short blond guy grasped him and slammed him into the wall.

Noah turned with a start, "Elle's" he said in a frantic voice, "Go out the fire escape!" he commanded, his eyes glued to the scene playing out in front of him.

Ella raised an eyebrow, "Why? What's happening?" she asked as she stood up for fear that Noah was in trouble. He gulped, "It looks like the return of the Hulk out there" he stuttered; turning to shoot Ella a worried expression before looking back out the peep hole. His eyes widened in shock as the burly demon turned his head and looked at Noah through the peep hole, "Go Elle's!" Noah yelled as he dead-bolted the door and scrambled to the phone on the marble counter.

As Castiel tried to get out of the blond demon's grasp, a female demon with short blond hair and bright green eyes came up from behind and helped hold the struggling Castiel who was trying in vain to break free. He could fight off one demon, but two at the same time?

The girl looked at the bald demon, "You get the girl Dave" she said in a voice of authority. Dave nodded his head and kicked in Ella's door, surprising both Ella and Noah, the latter of which who was dialing 911. Just as the officer picked up Dave punched a hole in the wall and ripped out a massive amount of wires, pulling his hand out to reveal fist full of various cords. Noah turned but didn't see Ella which was good, at least she got away.

Castiel pulled an arm free and placed his palm on the demon's forehead. He began reciting Latin as he had done earlier but the taller demon was one step ahead and rammed Castiel into the wall again, "He's a fighter ain't he boss?" he said to the short blond who nodded her head, "Just hold him still Filial" the girl snapped in an irritated tone. Castiel felt the air whoosh out of him as again Filial threw him into the wall effortlessly before punching him in the jaw causing Castiel to bleed profusely.

From inside the apartment Dave grabbed onto Noah and then threw him down on the ground, immediately slicing Noah's right arm when it smacked against the edge of the couch. Noah clenched his fists as he attempted to gain his footing but the demon cuffed him on the eye before punching him again and again on his side. Noah felt his head spin from the latest blow as the demon momentarily paused in his assault to look up. Noah followed his gaze and stopped breathing for a moment, another man with shoulder length black hair was grasping Ella by the arms, smiling wickedly. Noah's head pounded, what did these people want from him and Ella?

The black-haired demon eyed Noah over for a brief moment and Ella took the opportunity. She twisted her arms and broke free of the man's grasp, spinning around quickly to kick the back of the demon's legs so that he fell backwards with a thud. She sprinted to a drawer near the counter and pulled out a silver knife that glinted in the eerie glow of the apartment where the power had been cut off due to Dave.

The black-haired demon came up behind her and Ella spun just in time to see him loom over her. He punched her square in the jaw and she couldn't help but cry out in pain. As he went to punch her again Ella reacted before his hand could hurt her. She jabbed the knife forward into the man's stomach and held it there as his eyes flashed back and forth from the brown they were to a pitch black that made Ella uneasy. She cringed as she felt blood protrude from the man's stomach and onto her hand, still warm and releasing a nauseating smell. The man screamed in pain as she removed the knife and let him fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Dave stood up and started to stalk towards her but Noah leapt to his feet and jerked his head in Ella's direction. She got the sign and tossed him the knife, not wincing as Noah shoved the knife into the man's back and he arched his back as Noah twisted the knife which produced a sick snapping sound as it hit the man's spine. Finally Noah pulled the knife out and kicked Dave to the ground before looking at Ella, "You okay Ella?" he asked, worry in his usually calm voice. It took her a second but she nodded her head.

From out in the hall the blonde, Dalai, could hear the fall of two of her assistants and this enraged her; she had no more time to waste. Turning towards Castiel she began to recite a spell she knew would send his soul to hell. Doubling over in pain Castiel shot a worried look towards the apartment room that Filial had just walked into it. Castiel fell to his knees and knew that in a mere matter of minutes his soul would be sent to hell unless Dalai got distracted by something.

As Filial disappeared into the room Castiel could hear a scuffle break out and he prayed that Ella and Noah wouldn't be hurt in the fight. But he knew that if he failed to break away from Dalai she would torture them until she got whatever it was she needed. The tumult in the room ceased for a brief moment and Castiel listened closely as he heard the sound of a figure falling to the ground. Dalai smiled, she knew that she would win this fight; her warriors were stronger than Castiel any day. But the sick smile on her face crumpled into a frown as from the room emerged not Filial but Ella and Noah.

Castiel sighed in relief but then realized that they were going to try to help him. He couldn't let them; if they tried to interfere Dalai would kill them and torture their souls relentlessly. As Ella brandished the knife in front of her Castiel wondered how she had defeated the other demons with it unless it was like the knife Ruby gave Sam and ergo could not only harm demons but kill them.

Castiel found the strength to talk, "Run!" he commanded Ella and Noah but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't one to be pushed around. She glared at him, "_You_ run" she said stubbornly as she raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the way Dalai wasn't holding him anymore but rather staring intensely at her and Noah. Castiel used Dalai's distraction to his advantage and jumped up, kicking Dalai into the wall so hard that it began to crack, an indentation from her impact.

Ella's eyes widened in surprise and Noah took a step forward in case this Dalai was stronger than the guy and tried to charge Ella. Castiel used his powers to keep Dalai pressed against the wall as he began speaking in Latin once again, paying little attention to the two wide-eyed spectators. So much for keeping his cover; Zachariah would just have to deal with it. As he said the last line of Latin, streams of black smoke poured out from the blonde's mouth and disappeared as it found its way back to Hell.

The body slumped to the ground with a dull thud and Castiel slowly turned to face Ella and Noah, both of whom were utterly in shock. Castiel felt bad, the boy was not supposed to ever know about demons and such but now that he had been exposed to it there was no going back. He took in a deep breath of air and tried to think of a somewhat coherent explanation. As he opened his mouth to speak Ella held up a hand, "Wait" she said plainly, "Do I want to know?" she asked him, "Because otherwise; save it".

Castiel shook his head, "You need to know" he said bluntly before adding, "But it's not safe to talk here. We should go somewhere safe where we can talk without interruption". He said, keeping his azure eyes focused on Ella who looked at Noah and then back at Castiel, "I don't go anywhere with strangers" she said resolutely even though she really did want an explanation.

Castiel seemed to recognize what she was getting at so he held out his hand. "I'm Castiel" he said in a resonant voice that struck Ella now that her head had stopped pounding from the action rush. Noah shot her a quick look and then looked back at the man, Castiel, "If we go with you, you'll give us an explanation?" he asked curiously.

Castiel nodded his head, "As best I can" he said simply causing Noah to nod his head, "Fine, we'll go" he said, speaking for both Ella and himself. Castiel nodded his head and then started walking down the apartment hallway but was stopped when he realized that Ella and Noah weren't following. Ella stood still in the hallway, her arms crossed and an indescribable expression on her face. Castiel paused in his step and tilted his head, waiting for some clarification as to her hesitation.

"There are two dead bodies in my room" she said obviously, trying her best to not freak out. She had just killed someone, helped Noah kill someone and was now being told to follow some random guy to a private place. _Oh wait_, she thought sarcastically to herself_, he's not just some random guy; he's _Castiel_…what the hell kind of name is that anyways? Castiel…_she thought trying to keep her expression calm.

Castiel sighed, "Gather whatever you need, we won't come back…those people were trying to kill you". Again she glared at him wordlessly and he knew that she wouldn't agree to that so he said what he hoped would let her come, "I'll call a friend to get the bodies and you can return tomorrow" he said in defeat, hoping that would work.

Noah looked down at her, "Come on Elle's let's just go and see what this is all about, okay?" Castiel smiled slightly out of appreciation towards Noah and started walking down the hallway again. Ariel sighed, "Fine" she said slowly to Noah before muttering in a quiet voice, "But if he turns out to be some crazy ass rapist I'm blaming you" she said in a serious voice. Noah laughed quietly, "If he's a crazy ass rapist I will buy you a new bike" he said in all honesty. She shrugged and then smiled, "Sounds good" she replied before walking after Castiel.

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**A/N: Hope that was action-packed enough for everyone! Pictures of Castiel and Noah will be up on my profile page as soon as I figure out how. Please review I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the chapters so far!!!**

**What do you guys think of Ella and Noah? Like or dislike them?**

**-Ariel**


	4. Arrival

**A/N: I own none of the things the wonderful people at Supernatural came up with. **

**Alrighty…chapter four! Hope y'all like it! ******

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Once inside the elevator Castiel turned to them and spoke quickly, "Hold each other's hands" he instructed as he began to use his power to transport them to a safer place. Ella rolled her eyes, "What is this pla-" she started to say before she saw Castiel begin to be enveloped in a bright white light. She quickly grabbed Noah's hand and held it tight, stomping on his foot when he began to chuckle quietly at her. Castiel kept his eyes focused on Ella and Noah and his thoughts on the one place besides Heaven he knew would be safe to talk with them.

As the light enclosed around them he could faintly feel their emotions and was amazed at what he found. The relationship the two had was both like and unlike many he had found before. As usual there was that simple connection of wanting someone who would listen, someone to have as just a friend. But then there were the more complicated feelings, the ones that Castiel had been lucky to witness in the two Winchester boys. Ella and Noah had a bond similar to one that Dean and Sam; one that would hold them together no matter what life threw at them. In the two people before him Castiel recognized the feelings of honest, pure love; the kind of love that required nothing more than simply being there for the other person. Castiel dug deeper into the emotions of the two and found that Ella looked up to Noah as an older brother of sorts and that likewise, he saw her as a sister in the way that he knew he would protect her no matter what. Castiel was not shocked to find that their emotions were also the same as best friends, that old air of repartee and comfort that they had about them which also hinted at Castiel the deep connection they shared, yet he knew that it was probably even deeper than he could tell. But along with the feelings of friendly love there was also a diminutive feeling of physical attraction between the two but it was so overpowered by the others that Castiel doubted Ella and Noah even recognized the way they truly felt towards each other.

As the light fully enclosed over them Ella and Noah had to shut their eyes due to the bright light. An annoying, high-pitched and continuous ringing filled the air around them so much that Ella almost dropped Noah's hands to cover her ears. But instead she just cowered into him and waited for the noise to go away. Moments later the ringing stopped and the light slowly faded away. Noah opened his eyes the same time as Ella and realized that he had his arms still wrapped around her so he quickly dropped them and looked at his surroundings. He found that they were in the middle of a forest, giant evergreens surrounding them in a perfect circle. Noah looked down at his feet to find that he and Ella were in the middle of a bunch of flowers ranging from marigolds to a few roses around the edges of the enclosed area, where the pines just began reaching the luscious green grass beneath their feet.

Ella looked around her, loving the way the sun warmed her as though right down to her soul. She felt as though she were free and without a care, despite the fact that there were supposedly people out there trying to kill not only her but Noah as well. Looking into the darkness of the forest she wanted to run into it for it seemed to go on forever and ever. She spun around quickly as she heard approaching footsteps. Castiel held up his hands as he caught the worried look on Ella's face, "My apologies" he said sincerely, "I did not mean to frighten you".

Ella exhaled heavily, "It's fine…where are we?" she asked curiously, taking a step towards Castiel. There was something about the way the sun streamed down on his tousled black hair that she found incredibly attractive, even though this guy was probably the reason she had almost gotten killed. Castiel tilted his head, "Do you like it?" he asked her, watching the way her eyes flashed with enjoyment as she once again shot a look around her milieu, "Like it?" she asked with a little giggle, "I love it!" she said causing Castiel to smile. Ella felt her words get lost in her rush of thoughts as she beheld Castiel's dazzling smile. _If looks could kill_, she thought sarcastically to herself before forcing herself to focus on the situation at hand. This guy had just teleported her to some random forest and he had some serious explaining to do.

Noah could tell by the look on Ella's face that her patience was wearing out so he hurried to speak up, "So are you going to tell us what's going on?" he asked Castiel calmly. Castiel lifted his blue eyes and focused them on Noah, "Yes…but first I think you two should prepare yourselves with an open mind". Ella and Noah remained wordless so Castiel took in a deep breath and started the conversation he had prepared for the two, "I'm an angel" he began with, knowing that Ella was one who wanted the truth upfront but he knew that just that wouldn't be enough for either of them so he kept going,

"I was sent on a mission from my superior, Zachariah, to watch over you Ella, and to protect you with my life" he was about to keep going but her expression stopped him. Ella raised an eyebrow and gave Noah that look that meant I-told-you-he-was-some-crazy-ass-rapist. As Noah thought over what Castiel had just said he suddenly looked up at Castiel, "How do you know her name?" he asked him slowly, not liking where this conversation was headed. Noah believed in angels and God and stuff like that but to think that one was actually right in front of them.

Castiel continued to stare at Noah, "I know your name too Noah and that's because I've been watching you two since the beginning of today" he said hoping that wouldn't freak them out too badly. Ella raised an eyebrow, "Is that your usual schedule for Thursday?" she asked him. Castiel smiled and laughed quietly to himself and was about to respond when from behind Ella and Noah he spotted the two people he knew might be able to explain this situation better than him.

From behind her Ella heard a low voice coated with humor "Wow, you made Castiel laugh" the voice said with a snicker. Ella and Noah turned and looked at the two people facing them. The one in front, who by the look on his face was the one who had spoken, held out his hand to both Ella and Noah who took turns shaking it and then the other guy's hand. The one in front spoke first, "I'm Dean" he said with another smile. Ella looked at him; dressed in a solid black shirt covered over with a brown leather jacket and faded jeans he had light brown hair that was cut short and stunning green eyes that were familiar to her but she couldn't quite remember where from, and that name…He stood tall and confident but the guy behind him was taller still with brown hair and the same green eyes, clothed in a plain green shirt, brown jacket and jeans. It was him who now spoke, "I'm Sam" he said with a smile.

Ella smiled back at the two, "I'm Ella and this is Noah" she said simply. The one called Dean smiled wider, "Oh! You're the one he's been stalking" he said with another laugh. Ella gave Noah the I-told-you-so look again before looking back at Dean and raising an eyebrow, waiting for him to respond. Sam picked up, "What he means is that Castiel has been looking out for you" with that he turned his gaze to Castiel, "So did you run into any trouble?" he asked curiously. Castiel shifted his position and Ella jumped a little, she hadn't seen him move forward next to her. Castiel spoke more to Dean than Sam, "I was hoping you could help me explain that…" he said slowly; hating that he had to ask for any kind of help.

Noah looked at Castiel, "You mean those guys that tried to kill us?" he asked, wondering what these two guys could possibly tell them that would make at least a tiny bit of sense. Dean looked between Noah and Ella until his gaze settled on Ella which made Noah a little uneasy, why were these people so focused on her? As usual Dean didn't think before responding, "Yeah those guys weren't actually guys" he said slowly in the way that only Dean can, "They were demons".

Ella suddenly remembered something from years past about two people named Dean and Sam, but they were just boys then, hardly the two guys in front of her. She dismissed the thought and returned her attention to the present conversation, "Demons?" she asked him in disbelief. Sam solemnly nodded his head and looked at her with a piercing gaze, "They're just as real as you and I and they're out there creating chaos" he said bluntly.

"Well don't sugar-coat it" Dean said sarcastically before continuing the explanation, "But he's right you know, they are real and now they're after you". Ella lifted her eyebrows again, "So the monster in my closet is real?" she asked him, trying to make the situation a little less intense, though every way she looked at it she couldn't erase the fact that her and Noah were no doubt in serious danger. Dean nodded his head, "Along with hundreds of other evil shit".

Ella rolled her eyes, "Great. That sounds…fun". Sam laughed; her and Dean both had that same sarcastic sense of humor that he found entertaining. Ella continued, "But that still doesn't explain why I'm here. Loads of other people are out walking the streets - I'm sure and yet the friggin' apocalypse isn't killing them off".

Dean bit his lips, "Well see, about that…"

Noah glared at him, "You're not gonna tell us the apocalypse is about to happen are you?" he asked angrily, knowing that by the look on Dean's face whatever he was about to say was probably not good. Dean scratched his head nervously, "Will happen, is happening. Take your pick".

Ella gaped at him, "What do you mean _is_ happening?" she asked; her heart racing. Angels, demons, the friggin' apocalypse! Her mind was swamped with hundreds of thoughts and yet she somehow found the strength to keep a moderately calm façade, considering the situation. She brought her eyes back up to look at Dean, pondering what he was going to say next.

Sam gulped, "You want the full story or the synopsis?" he asked her in a quiet voice. Ella looked at Noah, leaving the decision up to him as she often did. Noah cleared his throat, "It sounds like we're going to be here for awhile so give us the synopsis for now. We can hammer out the details later".

Sam nodded his head, "Well basically both demons and angels are rallying their troops for battle" he said trying to cover everything in one sentence. Ella continued to gape at him, "Okay…but how do Noah and I fit into this? I wouldn't say I'm a troop of God or anything".

Dean raised an eyebrow, "And you think I am?" she started to talk but he held up a hand, "Please don't answer that because if you say yes I think I might cry" he said before continuing, "Look it doesn't matter what you think. You have ties to hunters".

Noah cut him off, "Hunters?" he asked, turning to face Ella who was unable to provide an explanation since she didn't know what Dean was talking about. She gave Noah a bewildered expression and Dean glared at Castiel, "She doesn't know?" he said angrily, taking a step forward in rage. He had been planning that when Castiel brought Ella here she would know about hunters and how they were connected to her. But it seemed like all that had been blown out the window now that Ella didn't know about such things. Castiel shook his head, "Complications arose. But perhaps we should talk Ella, alone".

Ella looked nervously at Noah and then back at Castiel, "I'm not going anywhere without Noah" she said stubbornly. Castiel tilted his head and Ella felt a pit of guilt grow in her stomach as she looked into his deep azure eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip wondering if her recent act of defiance was like disobeying God if Castiel really was an angel. She looked at him and the pleading in his eyes before sighing, "Alright" she said, "But only for awhile and when I get here Noah better be fine" she said, laying out her terms.

Castiel nodded his head, "Of course" was his only response as he turned and started walking away. Ella turned to Noah for a moment, her gaze resting on his brown eyes before she got up enough nerve and followed after Castiel into the darkness of the forest.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**A/N: What did you guys think of this chapter? Is the length okay? Please review!**

**-Ariel**

**Ps – today is my birthday so I'm thinking about doing a double update!!! Check back in a few minutes!**


	5. History

**A/N: Okay I don't really have a lot of stuff to say here besides the obvious fact that I own nothing the Supernatural writers came up with so on with the chapter!**

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Ella followed after Castiel, quickly catching up to him but she had to continue her brisk pace in order to keep up with his long strides. His trench coat fluttered noiselessly behind him in an eerie way that made Ella extremely alert to the fact that it was just the two of them in the vast expanse of forest. She wondered if it was a sin that she found him really attractive. But not just attractive, she though he was drop-dead-gorgeous. Finally after about five minutes Castiel stopped in what seemed to be a random area. He sat down gracefully on a wooden log, placing his feet on another log that was raised up a few inches from the ground in front of him. Ella leaned against a slender tree trunk a few feet in front of him and waited for Castiel to talk. He sat still for a few moments, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees as he tried to figure out how to start. Finally he started, "When Dean was talking about hunters he wasn't talking about the way humans hunt mammals, but rather people who hunt evil things like demons or ghosts".

Ella crossed her legs, still biting down on her bottom lip, "But he said I had _ties_" she said, her voice accenting the confusion that was clear in her expression. Castiel nodded his head, "Tell me about your life" he said, leaning forward more.

She laughed nervously, "What is this, a therapy session?" Castiel sighed and waited for her to begin. He knew that if he just listened she would tell him exactly what he needed to know in order to figure out why Zachariah had asked for her to be protected. Ella licked her lips and crossed her arms across her chest, staring down at her feet as she wriggled her toes, debating how to start. It wasn't that she didn't trust Castiel because for some reason she believed him when he said that he was an angel, but rather she wasn't sure where he wanted her to start her story. So she started at the beginning,

"I was born on August 26th, 1981 to a family who didn't want me. I was put up for adoption that same day and until age fifteen I bumped around in different foster homes, never staying in one place for more than a few months" Castiel wondered why no one had adopted her. Sure she seemed a bit fresh at times but did that mean she was a bad person. Castiel gazed at her, the way she was still staring down at her feet blushing red. No, he didn't believe that she was a bad person, probably just a girl with bad luck. He studied her glossy eyes for a moment and waited for her to continue. When she spoke at last Castiel noted that she was trying her best to not cry, "I finally met this really nice couple who took me in and cared for me all throughout high school."

Castiel interrupted, "What happened to them?" he asked her, sensing the way she had to take in a deep breath of air before speaking in a quiet voice, "A month before my birthday they said they were going to adopt me as their daughter…but two weeks before the 26th I was out with a friend and when we got back to my house - as I had come accustomed to calling it – we found the place mostly in ashes. I was only able to salvage a few pictures but everything else was lost in the fire; my future parents included". Castiel felt as though his heart were about to explode into a million tiny pieces as he saw a lone tear run down her cheek. Filled with sympathy he stood up and quickly wrapped his arms around Ella, not caring if he got yelled at for this physical interaction with humans. Ella was a bit shocked but appreciated the action and hugged him back, not minding the way his arms wrapped around her torso and sheltered her from the breeze that had begun blowing through the staggered trees.

Castiel reluctantly pulled away but continued looking down at her, "Who was with you?" he asked her softly.

Ella brought a hand up and wiped the solitary tear from her face, "Noah" she said with a hint of a smile. Castiel caught the faint smile, "You and Noah are good friends?" he asked, already knowing the answer to the more than obvious question. Ella nodded her head and looked up at Castiel, "I met him at one foster home in Vermont when I was in second grade, and then again in high school where we quickly became best friends. He's probably the only one who really knows everything about my past". Castiel stood silently in front of her; there was no need for him to say anything so he remained silent. Ella smiled a bit again, this time more clearly, "I don't know what I would have done without him". This time Castiel allowed himself to smile briefly before speaking, "What happened…after the fire? What did authorities say?"

Ella shrugged, "That some electrical failure sparked a fire that spread to all the exits before they could get out…their bodies were never recovered" she said slowly as though she still didn't truly believe that they died in the fire. "What were their names?" he asked, looking at her even though she wouldn't meet his gaze.

Ella lifted her foot out of her flip flop and placed it on the forest floor, wriggling her toes in the dirt as she spoke, "Mark and Sarah Curt" she said quietly, hating to talk about one of the only good things she had and having to remember how she would never get it back. She hated the finality of it all; hated the way that no matter what she did they were lost and there was nothing she could do.

"They weren't killed in the fire" he said quickly, watching as her eyes lifted hopefully. He had often heard the story of those two hunters told over and over again to different hunters who passed through the area. He knew the story well; how the two hunters had wanted to leave their job of hunting and settle down but the angels had wanted them to stay on their side and fight with them. He had been there when Uriel took them away from their house and forced them to continue hunting, promising that if they didn't hunt he would harm their child. Castiel looked back on that moment in time, remembering how the girl must have been Ella. He remembered how apathetic Uriel had been as compared to other jobs and Castiel began to wonder if that was when he started to turn over to the other side. But he could think about that later. Right now he was focused on the girl in front of him and how her almost parents had been taken away from her and he had done nothing to stop it.

He knew he would get hell for this later from Zachariah but at that moment he didn't care, "Mark and Sarah were hunters" he said, trying to break it to her in the softest way he could though he knew there really wasn't any good way to relay this bit of information. She looked up at him, "I figured as much when Dean said I had _ties_, I mean it obviously isn't me or Noah".

Castiel nodded his head, "But you two did know how to kill those demons back there". Ella shrugged, "I went with my gut instinct and besides, awhile ago back when I was just a sophomore in high-school there was this family of three guys who stopped by the house one time." Castiel listened intently and wondered if that was why Dean was in the picture of Ella, Mark and Sarah. Ella continued her story, "The guy was the same age as Mark and they appeared to be good buddies but they were talking about something that seemed serious so I stayed outside with the guy's two kids. They never said their names, but I figured out that the older one was a junior and the younger was just in eighth grade. The older boy caught me looking at the knife he was sharpening so he gave it to me and said it was more than just a pretty toy. I don't know what it was but I kept it with me from then on and then today I remembered that I had it in the drawer so I took my chances."

Castiel smiled, "I'm glad you trusted your instincts" he said before continuing, "Did you ever talk with the two boys again?"

Ella shook her head, "Unfortunately no. It would've been nice to talk with them at least once more though, they seemed like nice guys". Here Castiel laughed; _nice guys_. Ella had no idea that the two quiet boys she had met were the same as the two rambunctious ones out in the meadow with Noah. Ella gave Castiel a puzzled look so he quickly explained, "The two boys you met were Dean and Sam".

"Same as in the meadow?" she asked him, finally meeting his gaze. Castiel nodded his head, "Same ones". Ella smiled, "I thought they looked familiar!" she said excitedly, forgetting her worries for the moment as she realized she had found something else out about her years with the Curts. Castiel felt his smile widen at Ella's happiness, even though he knew it was probably wrong for him to feel this way about a human. But there was something about the way Ella's happiness made him become more reckless than he had been since he was human that made him feel free inside. He wanted to laugh at his own cliché of the word but he figured that laughing at this moment might not go over too well with the beautiful girl in front of him.

Ella's eyes suddenly looked back in the direction they had come from before returning to Castiel's eyes. She smiled, "Can I go talk with them?!" she asked excitedly, hoping that maybe they could tell her something about the two adults who actually seemed to honestly care about her. Castiel nodded his head, "Sure" he said as in a flurry of motion he turned and started walking back towards the meadow, Ella following behind him.

He noticed how although she was tall she was having a little difficulty keeping up with him so he slowed his pace a bit. She caught up with him and took place beside him, letting their conversation lapse into soothing silence. However Castiel still had one more piece of information he wanted to know above all else, "Do you believe that I'm an angel?" he asked her, looking down at her as she looked up to meet his piercing gaze. She nodded her head, "I believe you and if you say you're an angel then I believe it" she replied, "Any other questions?" she asked with a smirk.

Castiel bit his lips, something that he had never done before. He must have picked it up with Ella along with hesitating before responding. But she was patient and waited for him to respond, "You and Noah are just friends right?" he asked her. He wondered if it was wrong that he hoped they really were just friends and that she didn't like anyone like that at all unless it was him. Ella nodded her head, "Yeah, we're just friends...I don't have a boyfriend".

Castiel tilted his head, "Why is that? No one good enough for you?" he asked her with a sense of humor. She rolled her eyes, "Hardly, but it seems like all the good guys are either taken, gay or fictional" she said, mentally adding _or an angel_. Castiel looked down at her, "I'm sure you'll find someone, if you haven't already met them" he said, disappointed that she didn't say she liked _him_, but then again he wasn't about to admit his feelings for her right then and there.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe…are there any humans here besides Dean and Sam?" she asked as they crossed into the open meadow. Castiel nodded his head, "Yes. We could go meet them if you like…I still owe you an explanation don't I?" he asked her and she nodded her head before walking over to Noah who smiled at her, "I see the 'crazy-ass-rapist' didn't kill you" he said quietly, laughing a little as Ella pushed him playfully.

Dean looked at Castiel, "So what did you two discuss on your little nature hike?" he said with a smirk. Castiel answered in a voice void of emotion as he often did with Dean and Sam, "You know each other" he said plainly causing Dean to raise his eyebrows in puzzlement and shift his weight, "Nope" he said quickly but Sam wasn't quite sure, "Wait Ella…Dean didn't dad take us to see those two hunters in Vermont?" he asked him.

Dean pursed his lips, "Yeah up in Williston or something they had a kid named…" Dean paused and looked up at Ella, disbelief in his eyes, "Ella?" he asked her. She nodded her head but Dean continued, "Little Ella?" he asked her in shock. She glared at him, "Hey I'm only a year younger than you" she pointed out.

Sam smiled, "I remember you now!" he said excitedly, "You were a sophomore right?" Ella nodded her head and Dean snapped his fingers, "Yeah that's right! I gave you my knife" he said as his eyes flashed with recognition. Noah looked at Ella, "These are the two boys you told me about?" Ella mutely nodded her head, there was nothing more to be said.

Dean looked at Castiel, "So what now?". Castiel pointed to a worn-out path that seemed to lead out of the forest, "We go talk with Mike" he said simply as he took the lead and started walking towards the path; Sam, Dean, Ella and Noah following behind him.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**A/N: Please review!**

**In case anyone was wondering, here are a few of the songs I listen to: **

**Your Guardian Angel (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)**

**Accidentally In Love (Counting Crows)**

**Get Off Of My Back (Bryan Adams)**

**Superman (Five for Fighting)**

**Runaway (Love and Theft)**

**Those aren't all of them just my favorites. I don't really have a reason for listening to them but they help me write and think of ideas so check them out if you get a chance!**

**~ Ariel**


	6. Introductions

**A/N: Once again as I've said before I own none of the Supernatural stuff which means that unfortunately I do not own Dean, Sam or Castiel … but I can write about my ideas so here is chapter six! **

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Ella clambered over a huge rock that lay in the middle of the path, enjoying the height before jumping down and almost tripping onto Castiel; not that she would have minded of course. She was second in the line of people, Castiel the first obviously then Ella, Noah, Sam and Dean. Castiel had just told them that they were only another six minutes or so away from the base where there were other angels and humans helping in the ongoing fight against evil. They were making good time when from behind Ella heard a dull thud and turned to see Dean hands and knees on the forest floor, "God Dammit!" he cussed angrily at the rock he had tripped on before standing up and brushing his pants off. Castiel tilted his head and looked curiously at Dean, unsure why he would use those choice words, "Why would God damn that?" he asked completely puzzled, "It's a rock".

Dean glared at him, "It's an expression" he said through gritted teeth. Noah coughed to hide a laugh while Ella snickered under her breath with Sam who looked at Castiel, "Didn't Jesus curse a fig tree or something?" he asked him, a smile on his face. The puzzled look remained on Castiel's face so Sam just let it drop and Castiel continued walking. Dean walked past Sam and slapped him on the back of his head, "Thanks for your help choir boy" he said sarcastically as he marched up to walk behind Ella and Noah who were talking in whispered voices. He rolled his eyes and leaned in, placing his head between the two, "You two should just get a room" he said smugly.

Ella glared at him, "Could you be mature for two seconds? As it is I recall that even in eighth grade Sam was better than you". That shut Dean up and for a few moments it was quiet before Noah broke the silence, "Castiel?" he asked suddenly, "Where did you get your name?"

Castiel continued looking up ahead as he responded, "Every angel has a name that means something religious that is given to us by one of the four arch-angels. I received my name from Michael as did the angel I am going to introduce you to" after that Castiel said nothing more but Dean was persistent in his mocking, "Say Ella?" he said arrogantly, "Were you named after Cinderella or something?"

This time she fully stopped and spun around, "Yes Dean!" she said sarcastically, "I was named after a Disney princess" she shot back at him, standing her ground and not moving. Noah stood next to her, "Elle's, I think we're here" he said softly causing Ella to glare once more at Dean before turning and looking at the two story house that was in the middle of the forest. In front of the house, walking towards them was a guy who appeared to be around the same age as Noah, give or take a few years. He walked forward with a smile and Ella wondered if this was the angel Castiel was talking about, but she doubted it because this boy although he wasn't awkward, he didn't posses the grace that Castiel did. He had very light brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes that stood out since he was dressed in a plain white tee-shirt and faded jeans.

He smiled and nodded his hello to Castiel before shaking hands with Ella, "You must be Ella" he said with a striking smile, "I've heard a lot about you".

"_We've_ heard a lot about you" came the correction from behind as another figure stepped out of the house. Ella looked at the man who was dressed in dark colors; black leather jacket, dark blue jeans and a dark red shirt. This made his already dark brown hair appear even darker but his green eyes stood out as they swept over her and Noah' faces. His alert eyes came to rest on Noah's face, "You I haven't heard about" he said as he stood next to the almost blond boy whose eyes followed the man's. Castiel gestured to Noah, "This is Noah" he said.

The two guys remained wordless so Dean broke the silence yet again, "He's like her side kick" he said with a smile. Noah rolled his eyes, "I'm her friend…who are you?" he asked the two of them who looked once at each other before looking back at Noah. The one with dark hair spoke first, "I'm Jonathon but you can call me Jon if you want". Ella looked at him, Jon…she had known a Jon once when she was over in Michigan at a different foster home but he was at least six and a half feet tall while this guy was probably only six feet. Plus that Jon had been much younger and this guy was probably thirty-five or something.

The second guy spoke, "I'm Michael but you can call me Mike" he said as he shook hands with Ella and Noah. Ella smiled, "Is it okay to call you Mikey?" she asked him, trying to break the ice. He nodded his head and smiled, "Yeah! That's fine…you got any nicknames?" he asked her curiously.

Dean laughed, "Cinderella" he said before falling silent again. Noah laughed a little, "I call her Jets because she is one of the fastest people I've ever met and she always goes really fast on her bike".

Jon looked at her, "You ride a motorcycle?" he asked as though he didn't believe she could and they were incredibly dangerous. Mike looked at him sideways, "Dude, riding a bike is useful!" he said, sounding as though he was speaking from experience. Castiel sighed impatiently, "Michael and Jonathon are two of our newest human recruits; they arrived just before Dean and Sam." He said as if he were trying to explain to an adult why a child was misbehaving though honestly he was a little embarrassed at Mike's childish conduct. At having realized this Castiel had to push all his other thoughts away to focus on this one; could angels be embarrassed?

He wanted to ponder this some more but just then a lone figure standing at the far right corner of the house took his attention away and he nodded his head in greeting. The figure frowned momentarily and then suddenly vanished but Castiel could see her as she moved through the air in a way humans would not be able to understand. The female angel moved forward and was abruptly standing in front of Noah and Ella, the latter of which jumped at the unexpected appearance. Ella looked at this new-comer who looked like the angels she had seen described in books and such. Dressed in a plain white robe, she had blond hair that tumbled past her shoulders and baby blue eyes that stared at Ella with such intensity she was forced to look away and instead at Castiel who for some reason seemed to have a calming air about him which was probably due to the whole angel factor. However moments later he swiftly turned his head and caught her looking at him. She quickly looked away; missing the smile that Castiel flashed her as she turned her head. Embarrassed at having been caught staring her cheeks began to flush and her heart started racing. The blond angel tilted her head at the sound of Ella's racing heart. Her gaze quickly snapped to Castiel's eyes and without words she sent him a message through the glare in her eyes that she knew he would understand. Angels and humans could not mix; that was just how it had to be. Castiel saw her glare but he ignored it and instead looked purposely at Ella; let the garrison think what they wanted.

Ella looked at Dean, waiting to know who this person in front of her was. But it was Castiel who spoke, "This is Raphaella…she is the angel in charge at this base" Ella normally would have smiled in greeting but there was something about this angel that set her on edge. Castiel continued speaking, "Raphaella this is Ella and Noah". Raphaella swept her piercing gaze over the two humans in front of her, _children_, was the only word that came to mind as she looked them over and scrutinized everything about them that she could just by looking. Ella shifted uncomfortably which alerted Castiel to her discomfort furthermore. He quickly planned an excuse, "Raphaella I'm going to take them to meet Alex now so that they can get an explanation of some sort". Raphaella remained silent but stepped a little to the side so Ella took that as an okay and started walking behind Castiel.

Two minutes later they were all gathered at a table that was rectangular in shape and able to sit twelve people comfortably. Castiel looked around the table at the faces of those near him starting at his left; Dean, Sam, Jon, Mike, Noah and Ella. His gaze came to rest on Ella who was seated directly to his right and currently fidgeting with the golden tassels that hung off the beige colored cloth. He loved the way her eyebrows were scrunched up as she braided and unbraided different threads, her nimble fingers working quickly as she focused on her basic task. Her physical concentration was solely on this, but her thoughts which were revolving around Castiel in a confusing swirl of what was right and what was wrong. Was it wrong that she felt attracted to an angel, even though it felt so right? She got the feeling that Raphaella would not approve but something told her that Jon and Mike would. She sighed in exasperation, what should she do? Should she go with what she thought was morally right or what her heart was saying?

"Hello" a voice said causing Ella to jump in her seat. Castiel placed his hand on hers without thought, making sure that she was okay and not too startled by Alex's sudden appearance. At the contact Ella knew which path she would take so she slid her fingers through Castiel's and smiled up at him. He looked down at her, about to reach out and read her thoughts before he decided against it and realized that if she trusted him enough to follow him here he could trust her with her own thoughts. He smiled back reassuringly at her, having made up his course of action as well. Ella looked up to the man who had spoken, her eyes scanning over him. He was dressed in black sweatpants and a plain gray tee-shirt which read _Fire Department_ on it in big, bold letters. He had the same tousled black hair as Castiel but his eyes were light brown and twinkled in the light. He looked over the faces at the table before sitting down at the empty chair between Mike and Noah. His gaze was focused only on Ella now, "Welcome" was all he said…

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**A/N: Can anyone tell me how to post pictures on my profile page? I have some pics of Noah, Jon, Mike, Alex, Castiel, Dean and Sam that I want to put up but I don't know how…**

**The big explanation chapter is up next!!! **

**Please review!**

**~ Ariel **


	7. Explanations

**A/N: I don't own anything the Supernatural writers created but I did come up with Ella, Noah, Jon, Mikey, Raphaella and Alex. Here's the big explanation chapter which is one of the chapters I've been leading up to! There's a lot of dialogue because I tried to explain everything in one chapter so I hope that's okay with everyone…**

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Castiel kept his hand on Ella's as he spoke, their fingers intertwined underneath the table as though they were doing something wrong. Castiel began to once again question if it was wrong but then reminded himself that it didn't matter. His whole life he had done what he thought God would want and now he was done with that; from that instance on he would do what he wanted to do, not what others said to do. He figured that this change of attitude had first occurred after the rising of Samhain, and the next step was when he disobeyed Zachariah and let Dean go to help Sam before the rising of Lucifer, but this he supposed was the final step in disobedience against his superiors. Falling for a human was one of those unspoken rules that angels were just expected to follow, and he was breaking it. He wanted to be brave and show everyone in the room his affection for Ella but he knew if the angels were alerted of his disobedience they might suspect that he was going to change sides since he was disobeying orders. And if they suspected such a thing they might think it was because of Ella and ergo take her away from him, which he couldn't allow to happen.

He looked at the only other angel in the room and nodded his head in greeting, "Alex, this is Ella and Noah" he said to the angel who eyed them both up and down before returning his gaze to Castiel who continued speaking, "Ella, Noah, this is Alex. He's second in command here at the base". Ella looked at Alex where he sat next to Noah who was fidgeting nervously with his fingers due in part to Alex's intense gaze and in part to the sense of impending doom that he couldn't seem to get rid of. A part of him wished that he could start the day all over and convince Ella to not go home but part of him was glad that this had happened to them; he was in the loop for once and as if that wasn't enough he was sitting in a room with actual angels!

Alex sat straight in the chair as he spoke, "Ella" he started, addressing only her since really this whole meeting revolved around her as did the efforts of the base for the past week or so, "Before I can explain why _you_ are here, I must explain why Castiel, Raphaella and I are here. You see, God created angels before he created humans so that we could watch over them. And for more years than you can count we have, until one of your kind was sent to Hell as an innocent and spilled blood thus jump-starting the process that would eventually lead up to the apocalypse"

Ella interrupted his speech, "If he was innocent how could he have been sent to Hell?" she asked, forgetting that she had just interrupted an angel. Dean answered instead of Alex, "Because Sammy died and I made a deal with the crossroads demon which is this demon who brings people back for a certain price. When the time came to pay I paid it; my soul was sent to Hell and I was tortured for what seemed like forty years. Finally I was given a choice. If I tortured other souls then the demons down there wouldn't hurt me…little did I know that was the first seal".

Noah furrowed his brows, "Seal?" he asked, "Like the seven seals from the book of Revelations?"

Castiel spoke in a low and weary voice that made Ella want to get closer to him, "Yes, like those seals. Only we didn't start this" he said, talking about his garrison, "And there's not seven seals, there's actually a lot more and once they were broken Lucifer was let out".

Ella frowned, "So all the seals were broken then? And Lucifer…let out?" Castiel nodded his head and Alex explained, "The archangels had trapped him at the deepest level of Hell but he was released when Sam unknowingly broke the last seal by killing Lilith". Dean clarified for her and Noah, "Lilith is this evil demon chick who wants us dead". Sam rolled his eyes, "Dude, understatement" he said seriously. Dean nodded his head, "True…when I say 'dead' I really mean she wants us in Hell so we can burn with the rest of her demonic friends" he said with a grim expression so that Ella could just barely glimpse the horror he went through down in Hell.

Ella leaned forward in her chair and looked at Dean, "What happened when the last seal broke?" she asked, totally engrossed in the story. Dean looked at her and the table got the air of a group of friends sitting around the campfire telling stories. Only this wasn't a campfire and this was no story, "That's the scary part…nothing".

Sam cut into the conversation, "So the angels brought us here to keep an eye on us while they bring other troops here to get ready for the big battle". Castiel nodded his head, "This is kind of our headquarters on Earth. There are various bases scattered across the globe, right now we're at a covert location in the U.S".

Dean rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Home sweet home" he said sarcastically and the air of foreboding doom was gone and the joking atmosphere returned. But there were still unanswered questions that needed answering and only one way to answer them. Ella got up her courage and spoke, "But why are Noah and I here?" she asked no one in particular. Castiel decided that he should talk since he had been remotely quiet during the explanation, "Noah is here because he seems to follow you everywhere the way a dog follows its master"

Noah started to argue but Dean held up a hand, "Dude admit it; she has you whipped" he said, looking at Castiel innocently as though he hadn't interrupted his explanation at all. Castiel continued, "You are here because Mark and Sarah were hunters. All of us at the base were hoping that you would have some sort of experience in fighting against evil so I was sent to watch over you and get you here safely. Your ties to Mark and Sarah are probably the reason the demons were at your apartment"

Noah held up a hand, "Why didn't they come earlier?" he asked. Castiel looked blankly at him, "The apocalypse wasn't happening before." He said bluntly before looking down at Ella, "It's your choice whether or not you stay to help us".

Ella bit down on her bottom lip, wondering if she could still see Castiel even if she said no to helping them. After a moment's pause she decided that she didn't want to take a chance, "I'll stay" she said, causing Castiel to smile briefly before he caught Alex's questioning glare at his expression of happiness. Noah spoke up as well, "I'll stay too" he said before Ella finished his sentence, "How can we help?" she asked in an excited voice, knowing that her and Noah had just agreed to fight demons and stop the apocalypse. Alex was relieved to find that they were somewhat excited to be helping, "First you two will be shown to your room. And we'll take it from there" he said, turning quickly and disappearing out the front door.

Mikey stood up, "Alright. Noah, Elle's, your room is this way" he said as he started to walk down a hallway opposite the way Alex had left. Noah went behind him, then Ella and Castiel but Jon excused himself and said he had to meet with Raphaella so he went outside, shortly followed by Dean and Sam. Mikey led them down a long hallway where at each side there were various doors. Ella counted and found that in all there were six dark wooden doors. As he walked by them he named each, starting at the first door on the left then the door on the right and so on and so forth, "This is my room, and this is Jon's. Dean and Sam share a room so this is theirs and then across from them is going to be your guys' room".

He pushed open the door and led the two humans inside to reveal a beige colored room with maroon wallpaper at the top of the walls that coiled around the entire room. There was a plain wooden cross that hung in the middle of the wall between two twin sized beds, "Sorry the beds aren't bigger but we didn't know that Noah would be coming and this is the only other room we have that has dual beds beside the Winchesters' room" Mikey explained as Ella walked over to the bed on the left side of the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Noah sat down on the other bed, running his hand over the down comforter that was laid out on top before he let himself fall backwards onto the top of the bed. Mikey smiled, "Well I'll let you guys get settled in but just so you know there's a joint room there" he said as he pointed next to Ella's bed where there was a door that somewhat blended in with the color of the room, "It's a full bathroom with stuff already in it that you can use. So feel free to shower if y'all want" with that he turned and went into the hallway.

Castiel remained standing in the doorway and crossed silently into the room, leaning against the wall in front of Ella. She tilted her head, "Where do you sleep?" she asked him curiously. Castiel's eyes held no emotion, "I usually don't sleep so I don't have a room; if that's what you are asking" he said before adding, "If you like I can stay in the room connected to this one".

Ella quirked an eyebrow, "You're gonna stay in the bathroom?" she asked him in a confused tone. Castiel smiled and laughed lightly, "No. The bathroom is connected to two rooms; yours and then another. I can stay in the other room if you want in case you need something". Ella shrugged so Castiel took that as a yes and started to walk towards the jointed room so that he could go into the other room. Before he had taken one step into the bathroom Noah called out, "Hey Castiel" he asked hesitantly, "Should we do anything?" he asked, unsure if he and Ella were expected to go somewhere.

Castiel shook his head, "You can stay here until tomorrow. If you wish you two may look around the area we are in, it is quite beautiful." Castiel wanted to go with Ella and Noah as they stood up and took his suggestion to go outside. But Castiel knew that Alex and Raphaella would kick him out of the base if they thought something was going on between him and a human. So he walked into his room but he left the doors to the joint room open so that he could see when Ella and Noah returned.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**A/N: I know this chapter was shorter so the next one should be longer! Once again if anyone knows how to put pics up just send me a PM or put it in your review! Speaking of reviews, please review!!! If you don't tell me what you thought about it I won't know how to make it better. Can't wait to hear from you!**

**~ Ariel**


	8. Sleeping Beauty

**A/N: Yay chapter 8! Thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate it! **

**As said many times before I own none of the Supernatural characters. But if I had a coin like the one in **_**Wishful Thinking**_**, y'all probably know what I would wish for…**

**Also, I'm trying a new layout. Tell me what you think. **

**And thanks go out to always-a-country-girl for being my Beta! **

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As Noah walked around the house he tried to pretend it was just like any other day when he and Ella had gone for a walk, but no matter how he pictured it, he knew that things were different.

Whether that was good or not he wasn't sure, so all he could do was go with the flow and make the best of things. Ella didn't bother pretending like things were the way they used to be. She liked the way things were now; her and Noah away from the trivial bustles of regular life and instead living with Castiel.

Ella held back a giggle as she realized that she and Castiel were roommates of a sort. Noah and Ella finished walking the perimeter of the house and wordlessly agreed to go back into the house before it got much darker.

Already they could see the moon and a few twinkling stars peeking out into the darkening sky. As they walked back towards their room they could see that no one else had returned yet from wherever they had been so it was still just the two of them and Castiel in the house.

Before they got into the room Noah excused himself to a bathroom which was at the end of the hallway so Ella walked into the room by herself, flopping down clumsily unto the bed on her stomach and placing her head on the fluffy pillow. From the other room Castiel could see Ella where she lay on the bed, her body rising and down with every steady breath she took.

He watched with awe, captivated at how still she had become save for the motion of her torso. He glanced at the clock which was on his side table, noting that it was just past midnight even though the sky made it seem earlier. He wondered what time humans usually went to bed and so with that in mind he fluidly stood up and crossed into her room, his black shoes against the tiled bathroom floor alerting Ella to his presence.

She quickly turned over and looked up at Castiel where he stood in front of the door to the jointed room. "What time do you usually go to sleep?" he asked her curiously as he took a few steps forward and sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Ella shrugged. "It depends…what time is it now?" she inquired. Castiel replied with the correct time but Ella made no response, instead shooting a look towards the dresser that backed against the wall opposite her bed, "What's in there?" she asked him, changing the subject since she didn't really want to go to bed yet.

"While you went on your walk I put some clothes in there for you and Noah. Your items are in the top two drawers and Noah's the bottom two. And as Michael said, the bathroom has assorted items for you and Noah to use".

Castiel bit his lips, unsure if she would like what he had picked out for her to wear. He only wore one outfit so his sense of fashion was nonexistent at the moment as was his judgment of what size she would be.

Castiel had almost asked Raphaella to go before he realized that she would probably get her a plain white robe or something like that. It wasn't that Castiel thought she would look bad in it because he honestly thought she would look good in anything, it was just that he would rather see her in something that fit her form better than that.

He started to wonder if his thoughts were immoral but Ella's voice broke his train of thought. "Can I change into night clothes now?" she asked him, feeling a little tired as the day's events started to catch up to her.

Castiel mutely nodded his head so Ella stood up and crossed the tiny room to where the dresser was. The first drawer held an assortment of tee-shirts and shorts that seemed to be from the kind of store she normally wouldn't bother going into just because of the high prices.

The second drawer consisted of plain black underwear and bras along with night clothes such as _Soffe_ shorts and tank tops. She pulled out a pair of light gray _Soffe_ shorts and a plain white tank top along with a new bra and underwear. Castiel noted her choices and his thoughts drifted to what she would look like if she was only wearing the underclothes…

She turned with her items and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and flipping the lights on. Castiel could hear her clothes hit the tiled floor as she took them off and he had trouble keeping his thoughts at least somewhat modest.

Approaching footsteps alerted Castiel to his presence before Noah entered the room and cast a look around, obviously wondering where Ella had gone. Castiel nodded towards the bathroom. "She's in there" he said simply before standing up and moving to leave the room. "I'll go find the others" he said as he started to leave.

But before he was able to even to take one step outside the door, Ella came out of the bathroom and saw that Castiel was about to leave. "Castiel, wait" she said softly in more of a begging tone than an order. He turned and faced her, almost losing his breath when he saw that the tank top he had found fit her…nicely…

"Please don't go yet." She said, holding the bundle of dirty clothes in her arms and Castiel was forced to tilt his head in an adorable way.

She stammered, "I just…cause…I don't know anyone here at the base really except you and Noah. Will you stay for a little while?" She asked him and her eyes were full of unashamed begging.

Castiel smiled a little and nodded his head. "Just for a little while." He clarified before walking over and reaching out to Ella, "I can take those" he said softly as he motioned to her clothes. Ella smiled and handed him the clothes, watching in amazement as a white glow came from Castiel's hands and surrounded the bundle.

When the glow subsided Ella gawked as she saw that her clothes were now completely clean and folded. "How did you do that?" she asked breathlessly.

Castiel smirked. "I can't tell you" he said softly, though he mentally promised himself that someday he would show her. Ella pouted for a second as she took the clothes from him and put them in her drawers before she turned around and sat back down on the bed.

"So when will the others be back?" She asked Castiel who immediately inferred that she was talking about the others at the base.

Castiel made no gesture as he spoke. "The angels aren't coming back for another week or so. Jon and Michael are on a job until Sunday, so since it's Thursday they'll be back sometime in three days. Dean and Sam will be returning later tonight". He said with absolute certainty.

Ella raised an eyebrow in amazement. "How could you possibly know that?" she asked him in an excited voice.

Castiel smiled a bit, "They told Alex who just told me". He saw Ella's confused expression so he explained, "When angels talk in their true voices other angels can hear them no matter the distance. Alex must have spoken with them before they left and when he heard your question, he told me the answer".

"How'd he hear my question?" She asked, knowing that she certainly wasn't an angel using her true voice.

For a moment she thought that she had Castiel stumped, confused about how to answer, but then he spoke. "Since Alex is a main angel at this base he always keeps tabs on it even while he's on a job. What I mean by that, is he listens in every once in awhile to check in. He heard you ask".

"But how can he hear that far?" She asked, still not understanding.

Castiel thought over his answer carefully, "He – and any angel – can hear all of the conversations in an area if there is another angel there who…lets him 'tap in' to whatever the angel in the area is hearing. Since I trust Alex, I leave some of my conversations open to him". He said while simultaneously wondering if he had offended her by letting Alex listen to their conversations.

She had no response to that so she simply closed her eyes and lay back onto the bed; breathing in heavily and starting to daydream about everything that happened and everything that might. Suddenly a question popped into her head and she opened her eyes.

"Can angels read minds?" she asked as she stared up at the ceiling.

Castiel shook his head. "No. But we are very good at interpreting certain body language and such." He replied even though at the moment he was unable to figure out what Ella's body language was suggesting.

She moved her gaze from the ceiling to his face. "Can angels fly?" She asked with a smirk.

Castiel nodded his head. "In a way. It's sort of like teleportation almost but I don't like that word."

"Do you have wings then?" She asked him with the smile still on her face.

Castiel smirked and looked down at his feet, a little embarrassed, "Yes. Would you like to see?" He asked her. She nodded her head right away and chuckled at her enthusiasm but stopped once he saw her yawn.

"You're tired". He said and it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Ella shrugged but Noah nodded his head."He's right Elle's. Go to sleep". He said, walking over to the dresser and opening a few drawers before finding the one that held his clothes. He pulled out a pair of shorts and oversized tee-shirt and then, carrying them in his hand, he went into the joint bathroom and changed.

Ella furrowed her brow as the lights in her room turned off but the hall lights stayed on. "Did you do that?" She asked Castiel who nodded his head.

"Wouldn't it be hard to sleep with the lights on?" He asked her with a hint of humor.

Ella pulled the covers over her body and as she did so Castiel caught the flash of fear in her eyes. "You don't want to sleep". He said, and again it was a statement.

She didn't look him in the eyes. "I don't want to dream about the…the demons". She said, half expecting Castiel to just roll his eyes and walk away.

Instead he shook his head. "You won't. I promise." He said as he severed the connection between himself and Alex so that Alex wouldn't hear what he was about to say. "If you like I can control your dreams so that you don't have nightmares. As you sleep I can give you the power to dream what you want".

Ella smiled up at him; her eyes full of gratitude "Could you?" She asked.

He nodded his head and crossed to where she lay. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and laid a hand on her cheek, softly rubbing it with his thumb.

The physical contact wasn't really necessary but it made the connection stronger and thus it would be easier for her to fall asleep. Castiel could still hear her heart pounding as though she had just ran for miles.

Her eyes closed and she smiled. "Thanks Cas". She said as her heart rate slowed and her breathing became more relaxed. Castiel smiled and felt her slip softly into the world of dreams.

He wanted to enter her dreams to see what she would dream of, but he thought that would be an invasion of her privacy. Instead he gave her the power to control her dreams and he released his hand.

He bent down and kissed her forehead sweetly. "You're welcome Ella". He replied and sat back up before once again becoming invisible and moving to the corner of the room where he silently stood and watched over her.

Noah came out of the bathroom and smiled when he saw that Ella had fallen asleep. He climbed into his own bed and under the blankets, pulling them up to his chin before rolling over and closing his eyes.

As Castiel watched Ella with his azure eyes, he smiled to himself. She may be Cinderella to Dean, but to him she was sleeping beauty.

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**A/N: A side note: Someone sent me a PM asking if I thought Ruby was going to betray Sam but I haven't had a chance to PM them back. So I figured that I would say it here. Yes, from the start I thought that Ruby was bad news for the brothers we all love so much and I was really hoping that she would be sent back to Hell for good. Did anyone else see her betrayal coming? **

**What are your thoughts on the new layout?**

**Please review!!!**

**~ Ariel**


	9. New Day

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. My aunt has recently been diagnosed with cancer and I've been unable to write for awhile. With that said, please keep her in her prayers. Thank you. **

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Ella woke up the next morning at 8:00 to the sound of Noah's snores coming from his bed under the pile of blankets that he had, at some point during the night, pulled over his head. She squinted against the bright light as Castiel opened the blinds behind her.

"Good morning Ella." He said politely as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

She blinked a few times to get used to the light and then sat up. "What?" She mumbled groggily, still squinting.

He smiled. "Did you sleep well?" He asked her with sincere curiosity.

She shrugged and then motioned to Noah. "I would've slept longer if this one hadn't started up the lawn mower." She said as a reference to Noah's snoring.

Castiel smiled at her and then stood up, beginning to walk towards the door. "If you like, we can go get some breakfast now." He said, turning around at the door frame and looking at her.

She shrugged again and then picked up her pillow, throwing it in the general direction of Noah's head. He cussed and the pile of blankets moved as he pulled them up higher. Ella rolled her eyes and grabbed another pillow. "Get up Noah or I throw another one." She said seriously.

Noah rolled his eyes and threw the covers off of his head. "Alright, I'm up." He said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked haphazardly towards the door. Ella followed suit and stood near the table next to him before she looked up expectantly at Castiel.

"Do you need something?" He asked her.

"You said we were going to eat breakfast." She said as if he had forgotten. He nodded his head mutely so she continued. "I don't know where the food is." She explained slowly.

Castiel turned around and opened up a few of the cupboards that were in the kitchen. "Take whatever you want." He said with one grand gesture to the food supply.

Noah walked over to one of the cupboards and looked inside. "Elle's you want cereal, poptarts, eggs or…what is this?" He said as he pulled out a box of unidentifiable food.

"That is Dean's." Castiel explained as if that were all the clarification need. Noah nodded his head and placed the item back on the shelf.

Ella sat down and crossed her arms on the table, using them as a pillow. "Whatever you're having." She mumbled to Noah who grabbed the first two choices and put them on the table in front of her. She lifted her head and grabbed a poptart, devouring it within minutes.

"You housed that thing." Noah commented.

"I'm hungry." She replied matter-of-factly.

Castiel, who had been standing near the door the entire time, now moved towards the table and sat down with them. He ran over a few topics for conversations in his head as he tried to decide on the best one to have with the two humans in front of him. After a few painstakingly silent moments he settled on a topic at last.

But just as he was about to speak, Noah interrupted him. "So what's the agenda for today?" He said with a mouthful of food.

Castiel's voice was unemotional as he responded because his emotions were confusing him and the only defense he knew was to put on a mask of numbness. "Whatever you two would like to do. We have to wait for the angels to return before we start your training." He said.

Ella stood up and threw her pop tart wrapper in the lonely trash bin in the corner of the room. "Can we go out driving?" She asked.

Noah looked at her like she was crazy. "Elle's, we're probably in the middle of nowhere. I'm pretty sure the angels aren't going to have cars."

Ella glared at him. "Well first off, I wasn't thinking of cars." She turned to Castiel. "Couldn't you just magic up a motorcycle or something?" She asked him.

Noah rolled his eyes but Castiel found the request rather cute. "I can't 'magic up' anything. But there are a few cars in a storage unit the Winchesters share with the other humans. I can transport you two there if you like." He said.

Ella nodded her head. "Sure." She said before adding, "Just lemme put some better clothes on." She said.

It took her and Noah twenty minutes to get changed and ready to go, at which point Castiel was so bored he had resorted to counting the number of leaves on a tree outside his window. Ella bounded into his room completely ready but stopped in her tracks when she saw him.

"You're going out in _that_?" She asked him as she eyed over his tan coat.

Castiel fingered the edge of the coat. "What's wrong with it?" He said in a defensive tone as he looked at her choice of clothes. She had chosen black soccer shorts that had white stripes running down the side which complemented the white tank top she was wearing. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with a strand of ribbon that she had managed to find somewhere. Noah entered the room dressed in navy basket-ball shorts and a green shirt that sported the name of his college.

Ella held up her hands. "Nothing. It's totally cool if you're a tax account."

Castiel frowned. "That's the second time someone has called me that." He said as he began to think that maybe it wasn't such a good thing.

Ella pursed her lips and turned to leave the room. "Stay here." She instructed as she jogged over to Dean's room and began going through his clothes. She grabbed one of his jackets and a pair of his jeans and then yanked a shirt out of Sam's drawer before returning to Castiel's room.

"Here" She said as she tossed the clothes to him. He caught them and held them up to examine them.

"Noah and I will be in the front room." She said as she grabbed Noah's hand and tugged him back towards the kitchen.

Castiel looked at the clothes for another moment and then decided that if Ella was anything like the Winchesters, there would be no point in arguing. Moments later he was dressed and ready to go.

He walked self-consciously into the room where Ella and Noah were sitting at the table, talking in low voices about something. Castiel leaned against the wall and waited for them to notice him.

Ella lifted her eyes and when she caught sight of him, it took all she had to not tell him how hot he looked. Castiel looked down at his feet and then back up at the two humans, wondering what their thoughts were.

"Do I look alright?" He asked.

Ella nodded her head. "Yeah" She said breathlessly. "We'll have to get you some more clothes so you can have more than two outfits."

Noah rolled his eyes again as he stood up from the table. "As much as I'd like to spend the day talking about Castiel and his wardrobe, the daylight's burning. Let's go." He said as he walked towards the door.

Ella stuck her tongue out at him and then followed him, shooting another look at Castiel as she walked out the door. When he looked up and caught her looking at him, he smiled at her.

Ella smiled back and took a step forward, slamming her forehead into the doorpost. "Ouch" She complained as she rubbed her forehead.

Castiel's eyes widened as he stepped forward. Noah turned around and shook his head. "Jeez Elle's, are you okay?" Noah asked her.

Ella blushed and nodded her head. "I'm fine." She muttered, pushing him aside as she walked out the door.

Castiel reached forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?" He asked her.

Ella turned around, her cheeks still bright red. "Mmhmm." She said, wondering why she had to choose the hottest clothes for Castiel to wear. It probably would have been better if he was still wearing the coat because at least then his body wouldn't be perfectly outlined so that every time Ella looked at him she wouldn't lose her breath.

_Stupid Castiel!_ She thought to herself. _Stupid, perfect, gorgeous Castiel!_ She thought as she walked out of the house.

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**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short and yet took me forever to write. As I mentioned earlier, my aunt has cancer so please pray for her.**

**Pictures of characters are up on my profile page, take a look. **

**I go back to school on Wednesday and I'm on the soccer team so I won't have a lot of time to write. But I'm going to be writing a lot on weekends, so I'll be able to update every other weekend if I can't update every weekend. **

**Please review! What would you like Castiel, Noah and Ella to do when they go out driving? Where should this base be located? I love to hear your ideas so please write them in your review! Your idea may come up in the next chapter (with credit of course going to the person who came up with it!)**

**~ Ariel **


	10. Collisions and Decisions

**A/N: Thank you for all of your prayers, my Aunt's cancer is gone and she is now in remission! **

**Oh and by the way, I own nothing but Ella and Noah and Alex…and the really cool monster truck. **

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Castiel laid his hand on Ella's shoulder, his hand gripping her tightly as if he thought she would slip away. Noah grabbed Ella's hand as the white light began to consume them. Moments later they were standing inside a dark, damp and musty room.

Castiel glanced around the room and with one fluid motion of his hand, turned on the lights. The lights flickered a moment before turning on audibly with a clanging noise to reveal a stash of cars all lined up in a horizontal line.

Ella gaped. "Please tell me you didn't get these off of some black market." She said nearly out of breath.

Noah laughed. "That would explain the odd trench coat."

Castiel tilted his head but otherwise did not acknowledge the comment. Ella shoved her way past Noah and began to lovingly stroke the hood of a black mustang GT.

She let out a low whistle. "Are we taking this one?" She said though she would have rather taken a motorcycle.

Noah walked over to the last automobile in line and opened the passenger door. "You sure you don't want to take this one Elle's?" He asked her.

Ella turned her head and as she noted the truck Noah was standing next to, her smile grew into a beam. "Only if I get shot gun." She exclaimed as she bounded over to the truck.

The plain green truck was rusting at the edge of the tires and the inside was covered in detailed leather. However the truck itself was not what excited Ella, but rather the appearance of it as a whole. Towering over her head, it stood on huge wheels that came up to her waist and gave the truck an air of authority.

"You don't want to drive?" Castiel asked, puzzled by this statement of hers.

Noah answered for Ella. "You don't want her behind the wheel of something with so much power." Noah said with a smirk.

Ella ignored his remark and clambered onto the passenger seat. She sat down with a huff and waited for Noah and Castiel.

Noah climbed over her and sat in the backseat of the truck which left the front seat open to Castiel who sat down hesitantly.

The latter glanced back at Noah. "And you don't want to drive?" He asked nervously as he gulped.

Noah shrugged. "I'd rather chill back here." He said with certainty as he leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes.

Castiel made another hand motion similar to the one before and the garage door opened to reveal a wide, flat expanse of land that seemed to go on for miles. With another gulp, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and then pushed down on the gas.

When nothing happened he lifted his foot and tried again, finding the same result. He tried again and when the truck remained at a standstill, he tried for a fourth time.

Yet again nothing occurred and Castiel took his hands off the wheel. "I think this truck is broken." He declared to no one in particular.

Ella stifled a giggle as she reached forward and turned the key in the ignition. A low rumble came from under the hood and vibrated beneath Castiel's feet as the car hummed to life. Castiel pushed his foot down on the pedal and the truck shot forward and out onto the road which appeared as though it only got traffic once a week at the most.

Castiel's hands flew up to the steering wheel as the truck zoomed out of the garage and hit a ditch in the sandy terrain. He grasped the wheel and kept the truck from tipping over as half of it began to tip off the ground.

Ella grabbed the door handle to keep from sliding into Castiel. "Slow down Cas!" She yelled as his expeditious speed caused her to be thrown this way and that.

"Cas!" She tried again when there was no reaction. "You're not Paul Walker, now slow down!" She commanded.

Castiel lifted his foot slightly from the pedal and the speed slowly decreased. "Who's Paul Walker?" Castiel asked, momentarily glancing away from the window.

Noah groaned. "Don't get her started!" He began to say, but it was too late.

Ella giggled. "He's this amazingly cute actor who was in this movie called _Fast and Furious_ and there were a ton of sequels. He was also in _Timeline, Eight Below, the Life and Legend of Bobby Z _and_ the Lazarus Project_." She was going to keep going but the look of complete and utter boredom on Castiel's face compelled her to stop.

Noah lifted his head and sighed. "Wow, if you can stop her from talking about Paul Walker then maybe we do have a chance in beating Lucifer." He said with a shaky laugh.

Ella rolled her eyes and turned her head to look out the window. "Where are we?" She asked as she noted the dry, caked land.

Castiel stared out the window as well. "Texas." He replied matter-of-factly.

Ella scrunched up her nose. "Texas? Of all the places why would the angels have a base in Texas?"

Castiel shrugged. "I'd tell you if I knew but Raphaella has not informed me on that particular subject."

Ella nodded her head. "Cool beans…" She murmured as she continued to gaze out the window. The landscape flew by as Castiel increased his weight on the gas pedal, going from 60 miles to at least 80 within a good 30 seconds.

"Hey Cas, wanna let up on the brake a little?" Ella asked.

"I thought you liked the speed." He said, somewhat perplexed.

"I do." She replied as she turned her head back to him, "I just don't have a death wish."

Noah laughed from the backseat and tried unsuccessfully to cover it up with a cough. Castiel glared at him in the mirror until Noah's laughter was subdued.

All was quiet in the cab of the truck for the following minutes as Ella tried to get the radio to work. After flipping through all 128 stations, she found that the clearest one was more static than music. She decided to just call it quits and settled back into her seat, staring out the window as the scenery continued to pass them by.

"So where in Texas are we?"

"Groves." Castiel replied, "And sorry about the radio, I think that it may not be working because I'm here."

"Oh right, all of your heavenly-angely stuff." Ella said, feeling a little better that she – the girl whose best friend was a grease monkey – could not get the radio to work. At least it was because Castiel was an angel and not because she could not work a simple machine.

Castiel smiled slightly. "Yes, that."

Again the cab lapsed into a peaceful silence, the only sound being the hum of the engine and the dirt road underneath the souped up car.

Staring out the window, Ella's eyes flashed with white as a blinding light appeared on the right side of the road. She yelped in shock and Castiel swerved to the left as an involuntary reaction.

Gripping the steering wheel, he stomped on the brake as the truck began to swerve out of control. Ella slammed into the door and Noah fell sideways onto the seat as Castiel battled for control of the car.

After what seemed like an eternity, he managed to gain control and pull the car to a halt a little ways off the road.

Noah sat up in the backseat and then jumped in shock as he realized that Alex was sitting next to him.

"Alex…hi." He stammered, still breathing heavy from the almost car accident.

"Hello." Alex said to Noah. "Castiel?" He asked, but Castiel was not paying attention to him. Instead, he was looking at the very beautiful girl in the passenger seat.

The very beautiful girl who was very unconscious.

Castiel's eyes widened as he sat there wordlessly and stared at the unconscious Ella who was slumped over herself in the passenger seat. From the backseat, Alex peered over the top of the headrest and raised an eyebrow.

Noah gaped at her and then jumped out of the truck and ran over to Ella's side of the cab.

"Elle?" He breathed out as he unbuckled her seatbelt and sat her upright. He tried to remember what he had learned in CPR class, but nothing came to mind. The only thing he could think was that Ella was hurt and it was Alex's fault. If he had not appeared like that, Castiel would not have almost crashed and Ella would be fine.

"Heal her." He demanded of Alex. "This is your fault, so _heal_ her."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I am not some dog to be ordered around."

Noah gritted his teeth, his fiery gaze looking at Castiel. The latter was staring dumbfounded at Ella's limp body, a look of utter shock and confusion on his face.

"Castiel?" Noah implored.

Castiel shook his head slowly. "I…I…" He glanced at Alex who nodded his head.

Castiel gulped and leaned towards Ella, placing his hand on her forehead as he spoke softly and quickly. A white glow emanated from his hand and he closed his eyes as he began to draw her back to consciousness.

A few more moments and Ella bolted upright in her seat, her eyes frantically searching the cab.

"What the-" She started to say but was cut short as her head began to pound with pain. She realized that while the truck was spinning out of control she must have smacked her head against the window.

Noah pounded the side of the door in aggravation. "Why the hell wouldn't you help her?" He shouted at Alex who merely ignored him, "She could have been dead and you back there trying to pick a fight."

Alex glared. "You are the one who blamed me for her being hurt."

"Cause it's your fault!" Noah retorted. He glanced at Ella, realizing that he could have just lost her.

"Come on Elle, let's head to the main road and hitch hike our way back to Vermont. If this dick doesn't care enough about you to spare a little bit of his wacky angel mojo, then we're out of here." Noah stated.

Castiel's eyes widened, if Noah left, Ella would surely follow.

Ella furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

Noah huffed. "Look, we've only been here for a little while but I've already had enough! I mean, demons, angels, _and_ the apocalypse! Normally I'd be all in but not if it puts you in danger. It's time we high-tail it out of this crazy place and return to normality."

Ella tilted her head. "This isn't just about what just happened is it?" She asked, still somewhat befuddled.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Are you hearing _anything_ I'm saying Elle? This is…it's too much for me." He said honestly, "I'm begging you, come back to Vermont with me."

Ella turned and looked at Castiel, her eyes searching his face for the answer as he tried to memorize every detail of hers, knowing full well that she would probably choose to go with Noah and he would be left alone. Alone and lost without her.

Ella looked back at Noah, his eyes pleading. "Please Elle…please." He begged.

She sighed and faced Castiel. "I'm sorry Cas…but Noah's right. This is…it's too much to ask."

Castiel sighed and nodded his head mutely.

From the back, Alex addressed the two humans. "If this is your decision, we shall not bother either of you again."

"Final answer." Ella murmured as she stepped out of the cab and onto the dirt road.

Alex nodded and disappeared from the truck, knowing that the message he carried no longer applied.

"Come on Elle, it's probably a long walk to the main road." Noah said, offering her his hand.

Leaving his hand hanging, Ella turned back to the cab and smiled weakly at Castiel.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed before she turned back around for the last time and started to walk down the red dirt road.

Noah followed suit and Castiel watched as they slowly walked away from him.

Castiel could feel his heart break a little more with each step Ella took that carried her further and further away from him. He would have never imagined that a human could have such a big impact on him in such a little amount of time, yet it had happened. And now he sat watching that human walk away from him.

His heart continued to break until he could bear it no more.

"Ella." He called out as he leapt out of the truck and ran the distance to where she and Noah now stood.

"Ella." He repeated, "Don't go, please don't go."

She gaped wordlessly and seeing that she still did not understand how he felt about her, he knew that it would take a lot of convincing.

Stepping forward, he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back for a moment but then stopped once she remembered that he was an angel.

"I'm not going to go to hell for that am I?" She asked, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth.

He smiled back. "Not while I'm here."

He took her hand and gently rubbed it with his thumb. "Ella, I can't put into words what I feel for you, it's like a thousand different emotions all bundled up inside me and I…I just know that I can't lose you. So what do you say? Will you stay with me?"

Ella bit her lips and let go of his hand. "I'm sorry Cas, my decision remains the same."

And with that, Ella turned and did not look back, leaving Castiel with a broken heart in Groves, Texas.

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**A/N: Alright, I left you guys with a cliff hanger so you better review if you want me to update. I know that is cruel but if you guys like this fanfic, I like to know! **

**Hope everyone had a nice holiday and a great new year! I have to say I'm a little disappointed that Jensen and Misha were not under my tree with a bow wrapped around their necks but…there's always next year! **

**Later,**

**Ariel**

**Ps – Any Paul Walker fans out there? **


	11. Approach

**A/N: Alright here's another chapter. I hoped you guys liked the last one. Of course, I can only hope since I only got TWO reviews! Come on guys, please give me a little feedback here, I love to hear your thoughts. **

**As always, I don't own anything from Supernatural. **

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The days passed by uneventfully, at least for Castiel they did. Alex, Raphella, John, Mikey and the Winchesters all returned from their separate hunts unharmed and each went about on another hunt. Castiel mostly hung around the house, his teary eyes and constant frown a dreary reminder to everyone how much love could hurt someone.

Alex had approached him once on the matter, a few days after Ella had left but Castiel would not listen. He just turned his head in the other direction and stared off into space as though he were seeing something no one else could. However the only thing Castiel could see was Ella walking away from him, her footprints fading in the dusty wind and her figure growing smaller and smaller. This image replayed over and over again in his mind's eye and each time it broke his heart more and more.

Both Mikey and Sam had tried to talk to Castiel, but he still would not listen. Every time they said she was not worth the pain, he would just reply with some quote he had heard somewhere. In his heart, he wanted to say how much it hurt, but he could not.

Admitting his hurt would be admitting that Ella was truly gone.

As Castiel sat staring out the window in the kitchen two months later, Dean entered the room and spotted him.

Castiel made no remark, nor did he make any acknowledgement to the elder Winchester. He simply just sat there and stared out the window, completely silent.

Dean pulled a chair over to the table and sat down, pressing a bottle of beer to his lips and taking a quick swig. He studied the angel until he could not anymore. The sadness in Castiel's eyes was enough to drive any man sane.

"Come on Cas!" He suddenly shouted, causing the angel to jump in surprise.

Slowly, Castiel turned his head and peered at Dean with big, blue eyes. He waited for Dean to continue.

"You've done nothing but sit around the house for _two months_. You need to get and…do something, _anything_!" Dean shouted, the beer completely forgotten.

Castiel's expression remained blank and he was about to turn back to the window when Dean started up again.

"She's _gone_ Castiel. She's gone and she's not coming back. She chose him over you, don't you get that? She left!" Dean ranted, each word slowly sinking in with Castiel. Each word like a serrated knife he could not get rid of.

Dean fumbled for the right words. "She's…she's not…she's not worth the pain it's causing you." He finally spit out.

Castiel lifted his stone-cold gaze to stare Dean down. "You're right, she's not. She's worth much more than that."

Dean threw his hands up. "She's not! She's a human. Isn't it like illegal for you guys to like us anyways? Why the _hell_ did you like her so much? She's just one of a gazillion girls. What's so special about her?"

Castiel sighed, his eyes tearing up as he thought of her. "I can't explain it. But there's just something about her. I'd do anything for her, _anything_." Castiel stated.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Would you rip out your grace for her?"

Castiel tilted his head for a moment and then nodded wordlessly.

Dean sighed and propped his feet up on the table. "Then fight for her." He said in a defeated tone. "If you love her so much, then go find her and tell her so."

Castiel furrowed his brow, confused by the sudden turn of events. "But, you just said that she isn't worth it, that she left me so I should just leave it well enough alone."

Dean took his feet off the table and sat up. "I didn't know you loved her this much. If you're willing to rip out your grace for her, then there's something there."

Castiel tilted his head again. "What do I do?" He asked the human.

Dean shrugged. "Find her and tell her how you feel. Beg her to come back here with you."

Castiel nodded his head and took in a deep breath before disappearing. Dean blinked and shook his head, knowing that by now the angels' disappearing acts should not still come as a surprise to him. But at the moment he had bigger things to worry about.

Standing up and pulling his cell phone out of his picket, he quickly selected the one that had been programmed into his phone a little over two months ago. A few rings, and the person answered the phone.

"Hello?" The familiar voice answered.

"It's Dean."

The speaker paused and Dean heard footsteps followed by an opening and closing door.

From inside her room, Ella responded.

"Hey…what's up?"

Dean cussed under his breath. "You high-tail it out of Texas with your buddy Noah while simultaneously breaking Castiel's heart and the first thing you say to me is 'what's up'?"

Ella rolled her eyes. "If you want to be petty, the first thing I said was 'Hey' and besides, I did not 'high-tail it out of Texas' with anyone. Noah said it was too much for him and well, I could not leave him."

"Why not?" Dean snapped.

"Because he's been my best friend since like forever!"

"Oh well it's only the friggin' apocalypse, it can wait!"

Ella huffed. "Is that what you think? That I just don't care?"

Dean was mute so she continued. "Well I do care, a lot. And that's why I had to leave. If I had stayed, Castiel would have gotten in trouble with his supioriors. I'm not dumb Dean, Noah and I did some research on angel folk-lore and turns out that intimate relationships between humans and angels are forbidden. Even if something had happened between Castiel and I, he would have been taken away and punished and I would have been left here."

"Yeah well now he's left here and all depressing and crud." Dean retorted.

"Oh yeah and I'm just having a party over here!" Ella said sarcastically.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Look, I didn't call to bicker. I just called to ask you to come back to the base."

Ella gaped. "After what I just told you, you still want me to come back?"

"Yes. And I know Castiel wants you back so, what do you say?" Dean asked.

Ella did not respond so Dean asked again. Ella sighed.

"I've got to go, someone is at the door." She stated as she hung up the phone and opened the door to her living room.

Noah and her had plans for a movie later that night so she figured he was just stopping by early. It was supposed to be his girlfriend, him and Ella but he knew Ella would feel like the third wheel so he canceled on his date. Ella smiled at the sweet loyalty of her best friend.

"Hey Noah." She said as she opened the door.

"What's up?" Noah asked as he walked past Ella and into the living room.

"I brought the movies so you better have popcorn." He said, flopping down on Ella's couch.

"I thought we were going out to the movies." She said, "As in not in this apartment."

Noah shrugged. "And I thought that demons weren't real…and then I met you." He said with a smug smile on his face.

Ella turned around. "Oh you're _so_ funny." She said sarcastically.

Noah shrugged. "I try." He stated before flopping down on the couch and flipping on the TV.

Ella sighed and grabbed one of the DVDs, not bothering to read the title as she popped it into the player and settled down onto the couch.

Noah raised an eyebrow and Ella stared right back at him. "What Noah?" She asked, fully exasperated and not in the mood to deal with his crap.

"Pop-corn" He said, popping the P.

Ella gritted her teeth and shoved herself off the couch as she went into the kitchen to get the popcorn.

Noah tilted his head. "You okay Elle?" He asked softly.

Ella ran a hand through her hair and threw the popcorn in the microwave.

"Not really. Just before you got here, Dean called."

Noah's eyebrows shot up. "Dean? As in the Dean you haven't spoken to in like two months?"

"The one and only."

"What did he want?" Noah asked, leaning forward on the couch.

Ella bit her lip. "He asked me to go back to the base."

"You told him no right?" Noah asked, standing up and walking over to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter next to Ella as she stumbled for the right words.

"I…I told him that there was someone at the door." She replied, trying to hold in her tears.

"Is that what you wanted to say?" Noah asked her, his eyes boring into hers.

Ella silently shook her head.

Noah's shoulders slumped and he began to gnaw at his finger nails.

Ella bit her lip. "Maybe I could just go back for a visit." She suggested, "And then come back here."

Noah bit his lip. "Ella, you know I don't want you to go back. I mean…" His sentence drifted off and Ella stared at him.

"What? What exactly _do_ you mean? Cause I left that place for you. I left…Castiel…for you and you haven't even given me a reason."

Noah huffed. "Come on Elle, you know you're like my little sister. I'm just worried about you. All of this demon stuff…"

"We left the base two months ago and I haven't seen any demons yet. I think we're safe. What harm is a little visit going to do?" She asked him, her eyes probing him.

Noah huffed again. He knew that she was right and he knew it was not his place to make her stay if she did not want to, but he still could not help himself.

"If you're going back, then so am I." He declared.

Ella looked doubtfully at him. "I have to do this by myself…"

Noah nodded his head and then smiled meekly. "If you leave tonight you can make it to the base fairly soon."

Ella smirked. "That's if I take the bike…if I fly I could be there by nightfall." Ella pondered, her fear of flying not even bothering her since it would bring her to Castiel.

Noah nodded his head. "I bet if you called Alex he could even teleport you to the base. Take all of two seconds."

Ella grinned and picked up the phone, holding it in her hand as she looked at Noah. "You sure you'll be okay? I mean, I'll only be gone for like a week."

Noah nodded his head. "I'll be fine. After all, I can hang out with Delilah while you're gone. You know, I think she might be the one." Noah said, his smile turning into a beam.

Ella nodded her head. "Yeah I had guessed as much." She said, striding forward and wrapping him in a bone-crunching hug.

He chuckled and then broke their embrace. "Now get going." He said, motioning to the phone. "Call Alex and get him to transport you to the base."

Ella smiled and started to dial but was interrupted by a knock on the door. She gave Noah a puzzled look and crossed the room to open the door.

Looking worried and desperate, Alex stood in the doorway.

"Alex?" Ella asked, sensing the fear in his eyes.

Alex did not budge as he spoke. "Castiel is missing." He said, the words hanging in the air like icicles.

Ella gasped and the phone dropped from her hand, landing nosily onto the floor.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- **

A/N: Please, please, please review! I really appreciate it!


	12. Chapter 12

"Missing?!" Ella shrieked, her voice cracking and her forehead crinkling in worry.

Alex nodded his head solemnly. "I will explain everything but it's not safe to talk here."

Noah glanced back and forth from Alex to Ella and then back to Alex again. "Since when has he been missing?" Noah asked, as usual, looking for the facts before jumping to conclusions.

Alex turned his fiery gaze on him and Noah was so shocked by the intensity of it that he had to look away.

"Are you implying that I would not know when one of my brothers is in danger?" Alex asked, his voice laden with authority.

Noah stumbled over his words. "I…well…you…"

Alex looked back to Ella. "He's gone off the grid and won't respond to any of us."

"Off the grid?" Ella asked, the wind knocked out of her.

"We can't find him," Alex responded, "and it's not like him to disappear."

"Where do we look?" Noah asked.

"_We_ don't do anything," Alex snarled, "I'm taking Ella back to base. You get yourself away from here while we look…do you have a place to go?"

Noah paused for a moment and then responded. "Yeah I can stay with my girlfriend."

A second later Ella and Alex were no where to be seen and Noah was left alone in the empty apartment.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As Noah had guessed earlier, it took very little time for Alex to bring Ella back to the base. Once they arrived, Ella found Sam waiting for her. The latter saw the worry and anxiety on her face and immediately gained a compassionate look in his hazel eyes.

He smiled sympathetically. "Dean and Raphaella are searching the globe." He paused and glanced at Alex. "Ready?" He asked.

Alex nodded. "Ella, stay here and try to reach Castiel with your thoughts. It doesn't matter how you do it, just get him back here in one piece. We'll be back by nightfall."

With that Alex and Sam were gone; the only signal a sudden gust of wind that blew her hair back behind her.

Ella hung back and stood there in the clearing for a few moments, her mind teeming with unwanted thoughts.

What if she couldn't reach Castiel? What if he wouldn't listen? What if the worst had already happened and he would never come back? What if he didn't care about her anymore?

Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach and her knees gave way underneath her as she plopped to the ground.

She clutched a handful of grass and tore it out of the ground, suddenly angry at Castiel for leaving in the first place.

Of course, she had left first, but that did not matter. He had no _right_ to disappear from the base like that.

At least when she left, the angels knew where she was going and why.

But with Castiel…

She huffed angrily and threw her head back, looking up at the sky.

"Cas?" She said, her voice cutting into the air so sharply that it startled even her.

There was no response.

She sighed and tried again.

"Look I know you're probably pissed at me. I left, and I deserve to never see you again. But please, don't punish everyone else for my mistake."

The wind blew gently through the breeze but no voice came to answer the call, no faint, unsure smile reassured her and worst of all, Castiel was not there to hold her.

She could feel her throat swelling up and her eyes began to water for fear of his life.

"Cas…" Another minute and she would be so upset she would not be able to talk.

"Cas please…if I could only ask for one more thing in my entire life, this would be it. You don't even have to talk to me, just talk to Alex, tell him you're okay."

She managed to squeak out.

Still, there was no answer and her fears began to multiply and grow till they were all she could concentrate on. What if Castiel was dead?

"Ella." Said a voice from behind and for a fleeting moment she believed it was Cas. But when she turned around, she sighed, looking instead at Alex.

"Yeah?" She asked, standing up and brushing the dirt off her clothes.

He smiled sadly and took a step towards her. "Did one of the angels bring Noah here?"

Ella shook her head slowly. "No…why?" She asked softly, her head still reeling with worry for Castiel.

Alex looked down at the ground, unable to meet her gaze. Finally he looked up but still did not look at her, rather he stared past her head at the house.

"We are unable to…locate him." He said and quite suddenly Ella forgot about Castiel.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: Alright so I know that I haven't updated in an eternity, but I was without my laptop and unable to write. However, I now have my laptop and lots of ideas for the story so keep checking back!**

**Later,**

**Ariel**


	13. Lost or Taken

**A/N: **

"**Ariel is off writing chapter 14, so I am here to make an announcement," Dean said.**

"**We," Ella butted in, "**_**we**_** are here to make an announcement." **

**Dean rolled his eyes and continued, "As I was saying, we are here to make an announcement." He pulled a piece of paper up to his eyes, skimmed it and then started talking, "Basically, Ariel says that-"**

"**That is not what the paper says, Dean." Castiel told him, his eyes as scrutinizing as ever. **

**Dean huffed, "Would **_**you**_** care to read it then?" **

**Ariel snatched the paper from his hands, crumpled it up and then started talking, "Right, then. My name's Ariel and I am the author. I just wanted to pop in and say sorry it took so long for the update. There's no excuse for it taking so long, so all I can say is that I'm very, **_**very**_** sorry." **

"**Author?" Castiel tilted his head, "You are not my creator."**

**Ariel patted his head, "No sweetheart, that'd be Eric Kripke."**

"**He is not my father." Castiel rebutted. **

**Ariel rolled her eyes and looked at Ella, "Remind me why I'm writing a story about this goof?"**

"**Because he's incredibly adorable." She responded matter-of-fact. **

**Ariel nodded, "Right, then. On with the story about the incredibly adorable angel!" **

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

"You are unable to _locate_ him?" Ella snarled angrily, her eyes blurred with fear for the lives of her two closest friends, "is that code for you _lost_ him?"

Alex's brow crumpled and his eyes narrowed into cold slits of steel, "Angels do not _lose_ people. We are more sophisticated than that. Demons take them."

"More sophisticated are you?" She snapped.

"Yes, more sophisticated. You wouldn't understand. What with the size of your brain and all."

"Whatever," she cut him off with a flick of her hand and then forced herself to concentrate and where he could possibly be, "If he's not with his girlfriend then he could be at my apartment or his. But if you couldn't find him, then there must be some sort of cloak about him that shields his location. That would explain why the angels can't find him…but where would he get such a thing?"

She began to pace across the grass; mulling over where Noah could have possibly gotten such an item.

Suddenly she stopped, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Did you say," she managed to squeak out as she turned to face Alex, "that a demon took him?"

He nodded once, and a sort of compassion filled his eyes, "That is what appears to have happened."

Ella's head spun almost as fast as the world seemed to be turning. Her vision blurred and black splotches appeared all over the place. She was disoriented, and so very dizzy.

Without warning she was suddenly looking up at Alex from the ground, with no idea how she got where she was.

They were in some sort of garage, the smooth cement cold against the palm of her hands.

She pushed herself to her knees and stared up at Alex. He looked down at her and then over his shoulder to where Dean stood.

"You okay Elle?" The latter asked. "Alex said you fainted."

It took Ella a moment to realize Dean was there and talking to her. She accepted Alex's hand and he helped her up.

"I think I'm okay…" She said slowly, wondering why she had fainted in the first place.

And then she remembered about Castiel, and Noah and all the things that had gone terribly wrong just when everything seemed to be going exactly right.

"Noah? Is he…is he okay?" She asked no one in particular.

Dean shot one of those silent-communication looks at Alex. One of those looks he usually saved for Sam when they were on a job and there was something he needed to say but couldn't because of the present company. Ella's stomach churned.

"What is it?" She asked. "Did you find him? Is he…" She could not bring herself to say the word.

Dean shook his head. "We don't know, Elle. We were leafing through some of his stuff and found his girlfriend's address."

"Yeah Dililah." Ella interrupted. "She lives over on Locust Street."

"The thing is," Dean explained, "there was no trace of her anywhere. Only sulfur."

Ella was in complete disbelief and shock. Her mind felt completely disjointed from her body and there were no words to describe the immense feeling of darkness that threatened to swallow her whole.

Alex spoke again. "The situation does not look good." He said, and with the way he left his sentence, Ella knew there was more.

"What else is it?" She asked him halfheartedly. Part of her wanted to hear him say the answer, but only if that meant that he was okay. If he ended up not being okay…being dead…she would not be able to cope with that.

"Whatever demon snatched him…they left a message." Alex said grimly.

"What?" Ella breathed hesitantly.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a vile. Even though the cork was screwed on tightly, there were still remnants of the blood on the outside that had dripped down when the demon had poured the blood in. Ella felt her stomach churn.

"It's Noah's." Dean said softly.

"Ohmigawd." She said in one hurried word. Looking at the full vile, she knew that there was a lot of blood in it.

Her head beginning to spin again as Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

He read it aloud. "Ella, if you ever want to see Noah again, you will follow these exact instructions. Meet me at 127 Baum Lane. You cannot have any weapons. You must be alone. Do not be late."

"She probably just wants to have a nice cup of tea or something," Dean joked, but no one else laughed.

"Or something…" Alex said, gazing sadly into Ella's eyes.

"So let's stop talking about it and get going!" She said, looking back at Alex, "We've got work to do…"


	14. Just a Dream

**A/N: Here's chapter 14! Please read and review. (Blame my AP US History teacher for the HUGE delay – which I'm really sorry about – she's crazy) Hope everyone likes it! **

-o-o-o-

Over the next few hours, Alex hovered around Ella as if he was her personal body guard. But from the way he never left her alone, _**ever**_, Ella began to feel less as if he were there to protect her, and more as if he was there to keep her from escaping.

It was nearly four hours after she realized Noah had been taken by Delilah, and not once had Alex let her out of his sight. His constant supervision was about to drive her insane, and on several occasions she had found herself just about ready to take a good swipe at him and mess up that perfectly angelic face of his.

It wasn't exactly all his fault that she would consider beating him with a bat if she could find one, it had to do with a ton of different reasons.

First, and foremost at the moment, was the fact that her best friend had been taken captive by an evil demon out to ruin her life. A minor detail of that (note the sarcasm) was that said demon expected Ella to just give herself up. _Which I would if I could_, she thought bitterly, _but Alex doesn't let me out of his perfect eyesight for two seconds!_

She slumped into a chair and folded her arms across her chest as she tried to figure out a plan. After all, she still had Castiel to deal with. Dean had let on that she had hurt the angel's feelings pretty badly, but that was no excuse for him coming back after she pleaded with him to. She _needed_ him right now and he was nowhere to be found. Some guardian angel he was…

-o-o-o-

"Ella," Dean said, shaking her by her arm.

She groggily pushed him away, muttering something along the lines of a death threat if he didn't shove off. Dean ignored the warning and shook her again, with more force this time.

As soon as she woke up and looked at him, Dean almost wished that he hadn't woken her. Deep circles from worry and lack of sleep were under her eyes like ruts while her eyes lacked their usual vibrancy. Her hair was in disarray and her frumpy clothes completed her disheveled appearance.

She looked at him in dismay, "I fell asleep…" she noted, sounding as if she was disgusted with herself.

He shrugged and handed her a mug filled with something warm, "It's tea," he informed her, "you'll feel better if you drink it."

She slowly shook her head and looked around the room. Alex was leaning against the doorframe, his unwavering gaze still fixed on her without blinking. _God forbid the angel blinks_. She thought sarcastically as he stared her down.

Sam was leaning on the other side of the door, whittling away at the end of a stick. It seemed like an odd thing to do, given the circumstances, but Ella figured it didn't matter how odd it was if it helped him to think.

"Well?" Alex questioned her, "What did you dream?"

The question was abnormal, and it took Ella a moment to remember exactly what she had dreamt about, "A distant land, kingdom actually…it was in peril; everyone and everything stricken down by a plague…it was awful…"

"Is that it?" Alex asked her.

She bit her lip and continued, "There was a lake…I'm sorry, why does this matter?" She suddenly snapped, the stress gnawing at her nerves.

"What did the lake look like?" He pressed on.

She made a face that fell as a mix between confusion and annoyance, "A lake…shining, glimmering…water…there was a hand."

"In the lake?"

"Yeah…coming out of it, like reaching up after she had thrown something."

"She?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow as he cut in.

"Hmmm?" Ella said, wondering what he meant.

"You said 'after _she_ had thrown something'. How'd you know it was a girl's hand?" He clarified.

Ella huffed, her patience far past its end. "I don't know," she managed to mutter, "I just did."

Alex looked at Dean, and Ella felt a tiny bit of peace for the few moments all eyes weren't on her. But then Alex's gaze returned to her and it was as if he hadn't just given Dean an all-knowing look.

"Was there a sword?" Sam suddenly asked, moving to pace back and forth.

Her brow furrowed, "It was a dream, why the hell does it matter?"

Alex cracked a small smile, "Because dreams are never _just_ dreams…"


End file.
